The best female players in the world tee up at Muirfield in East Lothian this week for the AIG Women’s Open, the final Major championship of the year.
Surely this event deserves topmost industry support and media coverage to back up The R&A’s commitment to advance change in the women’s game and drive women and girls’ participation?
In 2020, the R&A dropped the ‘British’ from the title to put it in line with the male Major, but in many respects, this is where the comparison ends, particularly as far as raising awareness of the AIG Women’s Open is concerned.
At the time of writing (less than a week before the start of the championship) a Google search showed only a handful of preview articles. On social media, there was not much to write home about either. In my opinion, collectively the golf industry and the wider media can and should do better
It is frustrating because the AIG Women’s Open provides the UK with a prime opportunity to expose and showcase women’s golf to a wider audience to help generate greater interest in the sport. However, unless you are a Sky Sports subscriber and happen to see the championship advertised as part of the channel’s golf coverage (BBC will broadcast highlights of each day’s play), widespread promotion of this prestigious event is limited.
As a nation, we are reeling from the excitement of the Lionesses UEFA Women’s Euro history-making win and the seismic impact their success will have on the future of women’s football. But for the team to get to this point – slowly closing the gap on gender parity and players gaining the respect they deserve, it hasn’t happened overnight.
After England’s stunning semi-final victory against Sweden, former professional footballer and presenter Alex Scott said, “This is a culmination of years of investment by players, coaches and the entire system.”
The challenges that women’s football has faced are not too dissimilar to women’s golf – breaking down barriers in a traditionally male-dominated sport to pave the way forward for the next…
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