LPGA Tour dropped ball on Lydia Ko’s moment, pledges to be better

Lydia Ko had a historic round at the Ford Championship on Thursday.

Specifically speaking, Ko fired an opening-round 60. It was her career low and given that she has had one of the most illustrious careers in LPGA Tour history that is really saying something.

Unfortunately, the sporting world was not really aware of this as it was happening in real time.

This is a point that the great Beth Ann Nichols raised in an X post on Thursday following Ko’s 60. Her post was substantive and you should read the whole thing.

Let me be clear that it is in no way my intention to speak for someone else. I encourage you to read through the post in its entirety.

The point within it though was that the LPGA Tour really missed the chance to ride the momentum wave that Ko was creating on the course. Without the tournament being broadcasted on television there was no way for an audience to watch it unfold. As unfortunate as that was, we live in a day and age where there are infinite alternatives. Someone could have lives-streamed it from a phone (as noted in the post) if we are getting down to the bare basics of how it could have been put at the forefront of somebody’s attention.

As noted, the first public acknowledgment from the LPGA Tour did not come on X until Lydia’s round was concluded. For a company that has pledged to grow itself and grow its stars… this was a serious missed opportunity.

The LPGA Tour is responding well, though

Nobody can go back in time and right the wrong, but to the LPGA Tour’s credit their leadership took public responsibility for the issue.

Chad Coleman, recently named the LPGA Tour’s Chief Marketing Officer, responded to the post in question and called the criticism fair while committing to being better.

Perhaps the most important element of this is the public acknowledgment (the commitment to getting better is certainly important as well obviously).

It is impressive when leadership owns up to mistakes in any walk of life. Chad interacting with this post and doing so publicly shows that it is understood exactly what the issue is here. That is the first step in a change for the future.

Good on Chad Coleman and the LPGA Tour for understanding their audience. Let’s see what they do next.