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Bronte Law believes the women’s game is “still not taken seriously” by golf fans and insists not enough is being done to drive change.
The Englishwoman, 29, has long been passionate about taking the elite female game to the sporting masses.
But Law has grown disillusioned of late by the coverage that the best golfers in the world receive compared to their male counterparts.
Just last year, the LPGA and multiple LET winner questioned whether television and the UK authorities are doing enough to promote women’s golf.
And speaking ahead of the AIG Women’s Open – the final major of the season at St Andrews next week – Law’s concern remained.
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“Not much has changed. It’s difficult. We just can’t seem to be taken fully seriously by people who watch golf in a lot of cases,” she told bunkered.co.uk.
“Its a shame because a lot of those people haven’t even tried. They’re quite happy to be critical on social media yet they’ve probably never been to a women’s golf tournament. The emphasis has to be on getting as many people to events to drive that interest.
“Sometimes it can be difficult to showcase an atmosphere and being in contention on TV but if we can get more people coming to events it creates that buzz.
“They’re more likely to then tune in because they understand what they’re watching as opposed to flicking on the TV and not really getting it. The graphics on TV make it very difficult for people to follow the golf when they’re not avid golfers themselves. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
At a time where women’s participation in golf has risen exponentially in the UK, Law doesn’t think top performers like Charley Hull and Georgia Hall are offered the same respect as other sportswomen.
“The equivalent of the top British players in tennis, the vast majority could name the women but they’ve not really achieved a great amount aside from Emma Raducanu,” Law added. “They’re not winning big events and are still publicised a lot more. I don’t know whether that comes down to politics and whether the people running the country are interested in the sport.
“It’s one of the fastest growing sports but yet still feels like its still forgotten about on so many levels.”
Law is grateful, however, that Nelly Korda has emerged as the poster girl of the LPGA with six wins alone this season.
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“Any interest that we can generate hopefully turns into something where people follow the game more,” she said. “What Nelly has done is incredible.
“The stars who can win so many times in a row and we haven’t really had that since Annika (Sorenstam). She’s an incredible icon and role model to younger girls, she’s exactly what the sport needs.”
Law cares deeply about the future of the women’s game and wonders whether it will soon evolve into something similar to the men’s domain, where players often prioritise power over precision with such advantageous modern equipment.
“It will be interesting over the next ten years or so if it follows on that trajectory. Bryson [DeChambeau] has almost created a shift in the game,” she added. “You see these up and coming young golfers with 200mph ball speeds.
“I wonder if the same thing is going to happen in the women’s game and there’s going to be that emphasis on speed and distance in the younger generation. I would predict that is going to happen so that would definitely change the way we’re looked at.
“But we’re never going to hit the ball as far as men. I think the accuracy that we have with irons and the short game skills we have should be talked about more frequently than they are.”
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