Looking ahead to 2024, it’s once again easy to focus on premiere venues and events on the upcoming LPGA schedule. For starters, it’s an Olympic year and a Solheim Cup year, which means there’s plenty to play for beyond the week-to-week grind. Every shot builds toward making a team or the trip to Paris.
And, once again, there’s a jewel on the 2024 major championship rota that’s a household name among non-golfers: the Old Course at St. Andrews. Surely something magical is in store for the third playing of the AIG Women’s British Open on the historic track.
Here’s a look at five things we’d like to see on the LPGA in 2024:
Dominant player emerges
Last year in this space, a plea for a dominant player to emerge in 2023 was set forth. That certainly didn’t happen, though Lilia Vu’s two majors and four overall titles certainly made a huge opening statement.
Rose Zhang generated mega buzz with her pro debut victory at the Mizuho Americas and subsequent charge at the KPMG Women’s PGA at Baltusrol. Zhang didn’t win again in 2023, but there’s promise for her to break through the golf landscape into a broader conversation.
Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko still have time to make a sustained drive at domination – if they can stay healthy.
Once again, someone needs to step up and take this tour to the next level.
More teams at the Grant Thornton
With 16 teams at the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational, many were saying the obvious before the week was over.
“Growing this field would be awesome,” said Joel Dahmen, who teamed with World No. 1 Lilia Vu in the first mixed-team event between the LPGA and PGA Tours in nearly 25 years.
Fans and players alike would enjoy a bigger field in 2024 at Tiburon Golf Club. With ticket sales and concession sales double that of the previous year’s QBE Shootout and hospitality sold out, bigger and better seems like a no-brainer. Hopefully more top-ranked male players add it to their calendars as well.
It’s the kind of “grow-the-game” initiative that actually works.
Proper sendoff for a legend
Earlier this year, Dame Laura Davies was pretty down on her golf game. She’d struggled at the AIG Women’s British Open at Walton Heath and hurt her wrist a bit. The struggle continued at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open.
Golfweek spoke to Davies ahead of the Solheim Cup about her future plans.
“I’m down to play the British Open at St. Andrews,” said Davies of 2024. “It’s my very last one because I‘m 60, obviously, and my exemption runs out. If I play any decent golf leading up to that I might enter it, but I’m leaving it open for that. If you’re not enjoying it there’s no point, and I didn’t enjoy what I played in this year.”
But, as she said then, the summer of 2024 is still a long time away, and there’s a chance she might “find a bit of game” before next August and “fancy going out in style.”
“To play St. Andrews as your very last professional tournament would be quite something, wouldn’t it?” she asked.
It’s what a legend deserves.
Lydia Ko's clean sweep
Lydia Ko most definitely found something in her game in the lead up to the Grant Thornton Invitational, which she won with partner Jason Day. Now she heads into the 2024 season with Paris on her mind. After winning silver at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Ko took the bronze in Japan in 2021.
There’s only one color remaining for Ko complete the collection.
More TV at CME
With the largest check in women’s sports – $4 million – on the line at the 2024 CME Group Tour Championship, it would be only fitting to have every shot of the final group televised Sunday. Featured groups are fantastic, but with the players in contention not being shown on ESPN+, golf fans missed nearly half of the last group’s final round on Sunday this year.
(Though live network TV coverage and “Golf Central” onsite studio coverage were huge in making this event feel major-like.)
A $4 million check creates plenty of hype. A statement that big needs the exposure to back it up.
