Wie West became a household name because she contended at LPGA majors as a kid, competed in PGA Tour events and tried to qualify for men’s majors. Sports fans might not watch tennis all season but would tune in to watch Serena Williams at Wimbledon. Plenty of people don’t read Stephen King but know of his work. For example, people who don’t watch a single hockey game any given year know of Wayne Gretzky. To become a household name, one must be well-known among those who aren’t golf fans. There isn’t a player on the LPGA right now who can be considered a household name in the United States. But not even her sustained dominance could break out of Tiger’s shadow. Not even Inbee Park’s attempt at winning a fourth consecutive major in a calendar season could capture the attention of golf media in the U.S., let alone the greater sports landscape.Īnnika Sorenstam, the greatest player in the modern era, won 46 times in 124 LPGA starts from 2001 to 2006. Lydia Ko’s youngest-to-ever resume was significant, but it didn’t revolutionize the tour. Yani Tseng had the same security detail as Lady Gaga when the LPGA came to Taiwan for the first time.

No one on the LPGA did more media than Miyazato during her time on tour, but that daily attention came almost exclusively from Japan. Her face was on a Gatorade bottle in Thailand, but her name never resonated here in the U.S.Īi Miyazato rivaled Tiger Woods in popularity in her native Japan. Ariya Jutanugarn, for example, became the first Thai player to win a major and ascend to No. Several players have risen to the level of “household name” on the LPGA in the past two decades, but those were households outside of the U.S. There hasn’t been a player on the LPGA with the potential to move the needle in the United States like Rose Zhang since a prodigious Michelle Wie West. The LPGA has been desperate for a moment like this. Top 50 Modern Courses in Great Britain & Ireland.Top 50 Classic Courses in Great Britain & Ireland.Mexico, Caribbean, Atlantic islands, Central America.

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