The players at The Chevron Championship were not met with the response they would have hoped for at the first women’s major of the season.
The galleries at Memorial Park, which were well attended a month ago for the PGA Tour’s Houston Open, were all but deserted, making the first day of this event feel a little empty.
So instead of Nelly Korda’s opening-round 65, which put her into the tournament lead and stole the headlines, it was the poor attendance in Houston that fans were discussing after day one.
Fans watching Korda’s opening round noticed a lack of fan presence for one of the most popular figures in women’s golf at a major championship.
One fan posted to X, “We have to find a solution to the Chevron. I don’t know what that is, but I know this crowd for the most popular female golfer in the world ain’t it.”
Another fan responded, “Exactly! Wish there was more enthusiasm for women’s golf, especially when you have Nelly Korda leading!”
According to one reporter who was on the course, it felt just as empty walking the round with Korda: “Walked the back nine with Nelly and it was painfully quiet. She shot 31.”
This event is played in Houston, a major city that usually turns out for PGA Tour golf tournaments. One fan noted that it was a shame the city didn’t do the same for the LPGA: “Sad. Houston is a huge city, and this is going to be an annual event. They just have to do better than this.”
One fan suggested playing the tournament midweek to avoid clashes with the men’s events. They said, “The biggest solution to gain popularity in the women’s game would be to play tournaments Monday-Thursday when the men are not playing and give people something to watch on the early days of the week.
“Would also help to play some TNYs on some historic courses like Sawgrass, for example. Have no idea why they don’t find a way to do this.”
However, this week’s PGA Tour event is the Zurich Classic, a team event that is far from the most popular or star-studded of the season. So other fans blamed the move away from Mission Hills, a place steeped in traditions related to this event.
One fan said, “Huge whiff by LPGA taking the tournament away from Mission Hills CC.”
Another added, “It’s too bad this tournament didn’t have a spot where fans embraced it, along with a tradition that made it quirky and very watchable.”
At Mission Hills, the winner of this major would jump into Poppie’s Pond, so the Chevron Championship organizers built a small pool on the 18th at the Memorial in an attempt to keep the tradition going.
But that move didn’t land with fans, with one sarcastically posting, “They should add a pool on 18 and the winner should jump in it. Make it 4 feet though so any mistake is career-threatening.”
It’s only day one, but it’s clear that moving to Memorial Park was a big whiff by the LPGA Tour.
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