A victorious Matthew with the 2009 Women's British Open trophy
At forty, Catriona Matthew’s veteran status on the LPGA Tour is beyond doubt. She’s played in five Solheim Cups and bagged her fair share of victories, including the 2009 Ladies British Open. Her fifteen-year career, in which she’s managed to amass somewhere in the region of $6m, has taught its fair share of lessons, a fact made abundantly clear in an interview with John Huggan from yesterday’s Scotsman.
While much of what Matthew had to say about the Solheim Cup and the challenges facing the LPGA is really worthwhile– I encourage you all to take a look at it— it’s her views on institutionalised sexism and the men’s game that really merit attention, particularly in light of today’s earlier debate on the Tavistock Cup (or the Excess Classic, as Geoff Shackelford has dubbed it):
“Sadly, I’m resigned to the fact that we will never get the same level of attention as the men and I’m tired of banging my head off that wall. I can’t see, for example, a day in my lifetime where, as in tennis, we make as much money as the men.
“Don’t get me wrong though. I don’t want to appear bitter – I can’t say I’ve got anything to complain about lifestyle-wise – but the men make ridiculous amounts of money, too much money really, to the point where they almost put people off watching them. I saw Bubba Watson lose in the match play a couple of weeks ago and he was laughing. He just didn’t seem to care. I guess when you make as much as they do, you lose some of the incentive to win.”
Is there a threshold beyond which prize money stops being attractive or exciting and starts being vulgar? And if so, how or where do you go about drawing a line during this, golf’s most decadent era? Not only that, but are her views regarding the future of the women’s game born of unsentimental realism or a sort misplaced fatalism in the face of the LPGA’s recent decline?
Conor
Nice of Catriona to decide how much money is too much for other people to make. The men make what the sponsors are willing to put in the purse…and so do the women.
Newsflash, Catriona – men and women tennis players only make the same money 5 times a year – the four majors and The Sony. And the only reason for that is that technology screwed up the men’s game for most of 15 years. Now that the men’s game has adjusted, more people are watching men’s tennis instead of women’s tennis.
If more people were interested in watching women’s professional golf, and personally, I think it’s a shame they don’t, then the purses would be bigger and tours like the LPGA wouldn’t have half their events overseas.
You raise some very important questions. We need to consider these very very deeply. Yes indeed, very good questions
I think the LPGA has a very undervalued product. I dont really have the solution, but compared to the PGA and other men’s tour… the LPGA has a ton of gorwth potential.
Just like any other sport, the LPGA needs the right stars and promotion to get more economic attention. If you double the purses of the LPGA, I believe, there is more bang for the buck than you get on the men’s tour.
As for women’s tennis, the girls are just has entertaining as the boys. I was happy to see that, at least the major championships finally forced to pay the women equal pay. The top stars on the women tour can draw just has well as the men.
Some athletes should just stick what they do best which is to play their respective sport (see Cappie Pondexter on her views on Japan). One has to average 120K for 50 years to gross $6mil. Tough in this economy. If she has a gripe, do it closed doors with the LPGA heads. That’s how people roll in the real world.
Women’s tennis pays equal as men? Really? If that’s the case, they should play best out of five in grand slams.
I have no idea what happened at the match play, but probably Bubba was just being Bubba like Manny being Manny. This $400K earner seems a little bitter to me. Don’t play golf and try your luck in another profession, why don’t you?
@JTO: someone’s channeling their inner Brendan Venter…
Brendan is gone but not forgotten.
I seem to remember Annika and Michell Wie being given the oportunity to earn as much as the men. It didnt go terribly well for them. When the ladies are as good and talented as the men, i am sure they will earn the same rewards.
just because bubba was laughing doesn’t mean that he didn’t give it his all. he just has fun with his game, and it’s fun to watch.
Women want equality…combine the sexes into one event.
Same tees, same rules, same prize money.
Equality. Just like they want it.
For the other 99.9999999% of the population, making a good living hitting a white ball into holes sound ridiculous regardless of sex.
If they want to make more money, they should shorten the skirts and show some skin. Sexist? Of course it is, but it’s true. The fact is, if they want to make more money, they need more men (or women?) to watch, both on TV and in person. The only way to do that IMO is to differentiate their product as something other than a watered-down version of the men’s game.
Women would get paid as much as men if they could play as good, its pretty simple. Its pay based on performance, capitalism as its best, if you want gender equal pay move to bulgaria and play womens olypic handball or some similar shiz
@MW: for certain golfers, sure. I wouldn’t want to see Christina Kim in that sort of attire lol.
As a male, I would love to make the amount of money that Catriona Matthew’s has made over her 15 year LPGA Career, 6.3 million dollars. That figure does not include off-course earnings.
I am not surprised at her opinion. Catriona seems like she is in the 15th round getting ready to just lay down but deserved so. She, like all female atheltes, keep getting ‘their bells rung.’ But some people are still fighting the fight like myself…don’t get mad get even.
When you least expect it a light comes barreling down the tunnel and it is not a freight train.
Hang in there Catriona!!!
In the past few years both Mens and womens British Opens have been played at St.Andrews. While both were very enjoyable for all who attended, the mens Open drew roughly five or six times the crowd that the ladies did if memory serves me right. If the ladies start drawing the crowds that the men do I’m sure that sponsors will be jumping all over their product and the money won”t be long in gaining parity. By the way the ladies open was better viewing.
There is too much money in men’s golf. Too much in women’s golf. Too much money in sport period! I don’t see anyone turning it down. Why would they? Hunger fuels ambition. I don’t see too many golfers going short of a meal. You don’t like it? Don’t watch. Simple really.
Womens Golf is in big trouble because nobody wants to watch it because the ones that are in contention are the asians and they have no personality they dont interact with the crowd and to be honest since annika and now lorena are gone nobody on the tour makes it exciting to watch its sad but true I will only watch when michelle wie is in contention
The leading money winner on the LPGA Tour last season (Na Yeon Choi – $1,871,165.50) would have placed 40th on the 2010 PGA Tour money list. That’s quite a disparity. The reason the women don’t make as much is because the sponsors don’t give out as much for purses, because the interest isn’t as great. Pure economics, not sexism.
There are many arguments that can be made as to why the LPGA isn’t as popular for spectators. I for one look at the horrible TV deal made with the Golf Channel. When was the last time you remember seeing LPGA Tour golf live on a Sunday afternoon? If I have to DVR coverage to watch later when I already know who wins, I won’t watch.
SHE UGLY! of course no one wants to watch that.
Hey, Catriona Matthew, I think you make an absurd amount of money to play a game. But I am smart enough to know that nobody cares what I think about how much money you make. You apparently, are not smart enough to figure this out. Here is a hint, nobody cares what you think.