The Wage Gap In Women v. Men's Golf | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Sports

The Wage Gap In Women v. Men's Golf

It's time for women to earn what they deserve.

38
The Wage Gap In Women v. Men's Golf
Sara Jane Bowers

So one time I wrote about how the USGA/R&A is concerned about playing golf championships at golf clubs where women are not allowed to be members, which I don't think is a big deal. What I do believe though is the gap in wage from the PGA to the LPGA tour.

I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but the gap is huge. I don't just mean a couple hundred thousand dollars in difference; I'm talking at times millions. In the 2015 Masters tournament, Jordan Speith won a whopping 1.8 million dollars. While at the first LPGA event of the 2016 season , the ANA Inspiration, Lydia Ko received a check for $390,000. I know what you're thinking, Speith won the Masters and Ko just won the tournament where she jumps in a pond. But look at this other stats! In 2014 at the US Women's Open, Michelle Wie took home $720,000 while a week prior Martin Kaymer's check was written for $1.62 million at the US Open.

This gap can be blamed on the lack of sponsor's for women's events, even the broadcast coverage. Can it be blamed on skill? Harder work? No.

Golf is truly one of a few games where men and women play in the exact same format. The only difference? The yardages that they play.

Tennis at Grand Slam events have the same earnings for men and women, yet at other event's it isn't there fully. But even at majors men and women don't earn the same, and the men earn a high dollar more.

The largest earnings for a win on the LPGA for the 2016 season was at the US Open where Brittany Lang won $810,000. The largest earning for a win on the PGA tour was Jason Day at the TPC where he cashed a check for $1.89 Million. That's over a $1 million dollar difference. This year 44 PGA tour events had an earning of over $1 million for the winner. The highest earning for and LPGA player was $200,000 less than that.

If you don't think that is an issue, I think you should look again. Yes, we can blame that on sponsorship. But why don't LPGA events have as good of sponsorship as PGA tour events? Don't guys love when girls play golf in short skirts?

If you have ever watched an LPGA event versus a PGA event you will find that the women interact with the spectators, they actually are a lot more consistent with their shots and never have I seen an LPGA player get fined for a profanity on the course on camera or for spitting on the green.


Why don't people talk about this? We cared when the US womens' soccer team complained of their wage. Yet, what are we doing about women that play golf? You know I never have heard them complain, but maybe that's because they are in it because they truly love the game and want to grow the game. Instead of just playing to win and make money like a few PGA player have stated.

I think it's time for LPGA to earn what they deserve. What about you?

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
girls with mascot
Personal Photo

College is tough, we all know. Here are 8 gifs you will 99% relate to if you are in college.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

7 Things College Has Taught Me

Other than knowledge and all those important things

204
7 Things College Has Taught Me
We Know Memes

So, college is the place where you're supposed to learn all of these amazing life skills.

Here are the top seven skills I have learned thus far.

Keep Reading...Show less
college

College is some of the greatest years of anyone's life. Its a time to be outrageous, different and free; a time to do everything you were afraid to do. Here are 38 things you will learn during your four (maybe, five or six) years in college!

1. As a freshman, one does get to be called “freshman” by upperclassmen when they walk to parties in a mob of people.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

6 Unrealistic Expectations Society Has For Young Adults

Don't let the thesaurus-inspired vocabularies in our résumés fool you. We're actually just big kids.

2875
boy in adult clothes

Well over four feet tall and 100 pounds in weight, many of us "young adults" of the world still consider ourselves children. Big, working, college-attending, beer-drinking children. We may live on our own, know how to cook noodles, and occasionally use a planner, but don't be fooled; the youthful tendencies that reside within us still make their way into our daily lives. From choosing to stay up until 3:00 a.m. playing video games on a school night to going out in 30 degree weather without a coat, we still make decisions that our parents and grandparents would shake their heads at in disappointment. So why are we expected to know exactly how to be a wise, professional, sensible adult? It's not that we're irresponsible (for the most part, anyway). It's that we are young, inexperienced, and still have the sought-after, enthusiastic mentality that we can do and be whatever we want, which has not yet been tarnished by the reality of the world. These are just a few of the unrealistic expectations that society has for young adults.

Keep Reading...Show less
pizza
Fandango

There are a lot of foods in this world, but there is only one dish that stands above the rest: Pizza. If you're close to me or at least know who I am, then you know that I'm totally obsessed with pizza. It's one of my favorite things to eat and I will NEVER turn down a slice, even if it doesn't have my favorite toppings. There isn't a day that goes by where I'm not thinking about pizza. I even sleep with a pizza pillow every night! There are many reasons why pizza stands above all other foods, and here are just a couple reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments