Will the Economic crisis make women golf dismal?
Just when the US economy thought that it was recovering from the adverse ramifications of the recession syndrome, it was face to face with yet another reality check in the form of the financial crisis that has engulfed the game of golf.
Is it really believable that a game like golf can actually reach to the verge of getting negative replies from sponsors?
Does it mean that the long maintained fascination and frenzy of players like Tiger Woods, Luke Donald and the legend of the past, Jack Nicklaus, has finally come to a disastrous end?
Surprisingly, the intensity of this recession has manifested its repercussions on the feminine wing of golf.
In actuality, players like Lexi Thompson, Yani Tseng and Michelle Wie must be concerned about the challenges that they will be encountering in times to come.
One of the recent steps taken by Ladies Golf Professional Association, that verified the gravity of the crisis taking over the game, was regarding the cut in the purse of the Aussie Masters event.
The 0.5 million reduction in the total prize of the event was 33% below the prize money that is allocated for main events, such as the PGA Championship and the Australian Open.
Furthermore, it also accounts for a one-fifth drop in the weekly spending of golf players in such major events.
According to David Rollo, IMG head of golf maintained the claim that Australian Open was aware about the low allocation of prize money for the event this time.
However IMG was hopeful that it will be able to find corporate support that could successfully maintain the prize pool of the event.
''It's a difficult corporate environment, this close to Christmas,'' he said.
He further added, ''It hasn't been dropped as such. We never say up front what it is. It [$1.5 million] is just where it has fallen before''.
Since every cloud has a silver lining, after such gloomy and despondent updates there were a couple of developments that came as a sigh of relief for female golfers.
With the formal announcements of 2012 events coming on board, players, fans and pundits alike, expressed satisfaction that the aftermath of the crisis has effectively been weathered.
It is important to mention here that LPGA has introduced a couple of new additions in the list of events that will take place this year or definitely from 2013.
A new inclusion this year is the Handa Australian Open. In addition to this, the Evian Masters, which is termed as one of the most glamorous events in golf, will be given the status of a Masters event in the LPGA from 2013, and hence, will increase the number
of aspiring players for the sport.
Apart from these new and rather optimistic developments, it must also be noted that on the flip side, the prize money and purse for the events continue to serve as the prime concern for all golf events and their respective organising committees.
The crisis has, once again, highlighted itself in the form of a cut taking place in the British Masters.
The official purse has not been disclosed yet but it is being speculated that it will be lower than the $1.1 million prize fund of the Australian Open.
Above all, a key concern remains about the results that each of these 27 tournaments will produce for the young and aspiring players of golf.
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