{"id":44624,"date":"2025-08-04T13:12:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T13:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/44624\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T13:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T13:12:09","slug":"my-plea-for-a-better-2026-womens-golf-major-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/44624\/","title":{"rendered":"My Plea For A Better 2026 Women’s Golf Major Schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"

The final women\u2019s Major of the year is behind us, and it was a fantastic advertisement for the excellence of the women\u2019s game. Miyu Yamashita\u2019s<\/a> composure in holding off a final-day charge from Charley Hull<\/a> amongst others on a challenging links course was a testament to the quality of play.<\/p>\n

On the ground, more than 47,000 spectators attended the five days of the Championship at Royal Porthcawl<\/a>, making it the largest women\u2019s sporting event ever in Wales, with families and children attending in large numbers. That success was mirrored on screens, as the Championship saw its highest-ever TV audience for the first two rounds on Sky Sports, alongside a massive 144% increase in YouTube views and a 93% increase in hours watched.<\/p>\n

This outcome proves what’s possible when the women’s game gets the attention it deserves. Yet, it also brings into focus the frustration I feel when looking back at the rest of the Major season’s schedule.<\/p>\n

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A year ago, I wrote about the reality of women’s Majors<\/a> consistently being overshadowed by men’s events. Fast forward to today and little has changed. The men’s Major schedule might be “broken,” <\/a>as some suggest, but for women’s golf, it often feels even worse, deliberately set up for second-tier status.<\/p>\n

\"Charley<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The men’s Majors always grab attention, with headlines taking over for weeks before, during, and after the event. This constant dominance makes it all the more frustrating, as women’s golf often struggles for significant media coverage.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s Majors are supposed to be the moments that break through, generating their own big buzz. Yet, the US Women\u2019s Open clashed directly with the PGA Tour\u2019s Memorial tournament and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship found itself in a head-on collision with the Travelers Championship, where 45 of the world’s top 50 male players were competing. When the women\u2019s Majors<\/a> are directly up against men’s signature tournaments, they\u2019ve got no chance to capture the level of attention they deserve. It just seems incredibly unfair.<\/p>\n

While I, like many others, adore the men\u2019s Majors and appreciate the immense scale of the PGA Tour<\/a>, it’s genuinely disheartening that these women\u2019s Majors consistently draw the short straw. I understand that men\u2019s golf will inevitably attract a larger audience, leading broadcasters to prioritise them, but please, please, can the PGA Tour and broadcasters at least consider the LPGA\u2019s tournament schedule, as it continues to be overlooked, despite the women’s tour’s sensible efforts to avoid clashes with the men’s ‘big’ events.<\/p>\n

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\"Michelle<\/p>\n

Michelle Wie won the 2014 US Women’s Open<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

As Hall of Famer and three-time American Solheim Cup<\/a> Captain Juli Inkster<\/a> told me last year, expressing a widely held frustration, “I don\u2019t think the PGA care less where they add stuff, they don\u2019t look at our schedule. They don\u2019t call the LPGA and say, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re gonna schedule this, is it OK?\u2019” This sentiment perfectly captures that feeling of one-sided decisions, which leaves women’s Majors constantly vulnerable to being overshadowed, even with all their growing momentum and fantastic storylines.<\/p>\n

Think back to 2014. It was great when the USGA held the US Open and US Women\u2019s Open in consecutive weeks at Pinehurst No 2<\/a>. This was a deliberate move to raise the profile of women\u2019s golf and it did just that, elevating visibility and recognition for the Women\u2019s Major. It showed what’s possible with thoughtful scheduling. Yet, here we are, having to wait until 2029 to see this kind of consecutive event at Pinehurst again, and at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in 2036, a clear sign that systemic change is still frustratingly slow.<\/p>\n

And let’s not forget, sponsors are often hard to come by in women’s sports. Still, companies like KPMG are throwing huge cash into women\u2019s golf. The KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship purse hit $12 million this year, which now ties the largest purse in women\u2019s golf alongside the US Women\u2019s Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a huge and valuable commitment and also demonstrates the growth in the women\u2019s game. But it also makes you wonder, how do big names like KPMG and other partners really feel about their investment when tournament scheduling means men\u2019s signature events will grab most of the attention?<\/p>\n

It’s not just about avoiding clashes, though. Even when there is a clear shot for a Major, like The Chevron Championship at the beginning of the season, the LPGA needs to make sure they pull out all the stops to make it an all-singing and all-dancing affair. In my opinion, it fell short of delivering that true fanfare.<\/p>\n

\"Grace<\/p>\n

Grace Kim, winner of the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the final two women\u2019s Majors of the year did not go head-to-head with a men\u2019s signature event, and they both delivered. The Amundi Evian Championship<\/a> provided one of the most exciting finishes to a Major I have ever seen, with Grace Kim’s miraculous chip-in to force a playoff with Jeeno Thitikul<\/a>, which she won with an eagle.<\/p>\n

Then, the AIG Women\u2019s Open<\/a> at Royal Porthcawl was a fantastic and fitting climax to the Major season. It got the undivided attention it deserved, and its success is a testament to what’s possible with a clean schedule. Here’s hoping the momentum from these final two Majors carries into next year\u2019s season and finally brings the women’s game the consistent, standalone spotlight it has earned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The final women\u2019s Major of the year is behind us, and it was a fantastic advertisement for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-44624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}