LPGA Experiencing Increases In Attendance, TV Viewership

While the numbers “still pale in comparison with men’s golf,” LPGA attendance figures were up 5% last year and 10% since ’01, according to Kristina Dell of TIME. Average daily TV viewership for LPGA events on cable — excluding Golf Channel -– reached 417,000 HHs in ’06, a 59% jump from ’05, and network viewership rose 14% last year to 1.7 million HHs. Asia is seen as the “fastest-growing sector in TV, with women’s golf in Japan garnering double the ratings of the men.” SFX Golf President John Mascatello said, “What’s going on is eerily similar to when women’s tennis blew up a decade ago.” Dell notes just two of the top ten players on the LPGA money list so far this year are over the age of 27. In fact, the remaining eight players “have an average age of 22” (TIME, 5/7 issue).