The Annika 2024 saw a lot of media coverage and viewership last weekend. With the likes of Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang, and Charley Hull performing at their best. the tournament was a nail-biter till the very last minute. The last round saw the world no. 1 make a major comeback to score 5 birdies in the last 9 to capture her 7th title of the season. But that was not what caught the maximum viewership.
On the same day, the CME Group announced the extension of their contract to sponsor the final event of the season, The CME Group Tour Championship. The contract was due in 2025 and has now been extended to 2027. What followed was an exciting event with a lacklustre broadcast.
Despite winning the trust of the $81.43 billion company, the LPGA Tour was still not able to secure a premier spot on the Golf Channel. A part of the event was not live on the Golf Channel because of the conflicting PGA Tour event. This didn’t sit well with the CEO of the CME Group, Terry Duff, as he voiced his opinion about the unfair treatment a couple of days ago.
As shared by @Josh Carpenter on their X account, Terry said, “I think that’s inappropriate for a tournament of this magnitude to be on tape delay. I have told Mollie I don’t like that. I will leave it in her hands to see where that ultimately ends up,” as he suggested that the commissioner of the LPGA; Mollie Marcoux Samaan will take care of the issue. He further added, “If you are going to continue to build women’s sports, you have to give them the same billing as men and stop the nonsense of saying we have to show the men’s tournament because they’re the men.” Terry’s statement is justified as the broadcasters have always prioritized men’s golf over women’s events.
The face of women’s golf, Nelly Korda, also shared similar views soon after her victory at The Annika 2024. She said, “I think we need primetime TV. We need more hours on TV. I mean, we have a great product out here. We have so many amazing stories. We just need to be on primetime TV.” Korda herself has tried to contribute to the exposure of the LPGA Tour by participating in the photo shoot for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2025 magazine.
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