Every day is International Women’s Day at the LPGA.
The LPGA is a global organization that sees athletes from over 30 countries compete each year, a worldwide representation of female athletic excellence that is unmatched in both breadth and diversity across sports. From the United States to the Republic of Korea to Paraguay to Australia to South Africa to England, nearly every continent has a representative on the LPGA Tour. It’s something that’s considered to be a point of pride for the organization as it proves that the LPGA is the destination for the world’s top talent in women’s golf.
Lydia Ko has certainly earned her place as one of the best in the women’s game since she became an LPGA Tour member in 2014, and the New Zealand native is grateful for the opportunity to compete against a stacked roster of global talent every time she tees it up on Tour.
“It's great to be part of a tour where you know that the best female golfers are playing,” said Ko, who was born in the Republic of Korea. “When you're competing, you want to compete and play against the best of the best. I feel like I'm doing that week in, week out. There is so much talent out here that I wish a lot more people would be able to tune into our TV coverage and come and watch. I play alongside these ladies, and sometimes it makes me say, wow, because it's so impressive.”
Ko is also proud to have represented both her Kiwi and Korean backgrounds throughout her LPGA Tour career on the world’s biggest stages. She won for the first time in the Republic of Korea as a Tour member in 2022 at the BMW Ladies Championship, and Ko played under for New Zealand in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, where she took home the silver and the bronze, respectively, an experience she’s looking forward to having again this year in Paris.
“I always feel proud to represent New Zealand,” said Ko. “I’m proud to be a South-Korean-born Kiwi. Both of those countries make me who I am. I think if I was one or the other, I wouldn't be me. I feel proud of both cultures and my heritage, and I'm excited to be able to represent both countries, and I'm excited for the Olympics in Paris.”
The 2024 LPGA Tour schedule boasts 11 international events across Asia and Europe, two of which are majors – The Amundi Evian Championship, which is held annually in Evian-les-Bains, France, and the AIG Women’s Open, which rotates from venue to venue in the United Kingdom. The Tour also makes stops in Canada, Japan, Malaysia, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Scotland, Singapore and Thailand this season, and has competed in places like Australia, Chinese Taipei, Mexico and New Zealand in the past. The LPGA even puts on two biennial team competitions, the Solheim Cup and Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, that give players an opportunity to represent their country as a member of a team.
Having joined the LPGA Tour in 2005, American Paula Creamer is someone who has teed it up in numerous different countries, competing alongside players from a whole host of different backgrounds over the course of her career, something she feels privileged to have done in her 20 years with the LPGA. The 37-year-old always does her best to get out and experience the local culture when she’s traveling internationally, particularly enjoying trying the different foods of each country to which she has been.
“Playing in a professional organization with all these women, it is pretty exciting working with people unlike yourself,” said Creamer. “I've always been a very proud American, but I also embrace culture. Everywhere we go, I try to find the local places or sightsee. That's the greatest thing about our job is that we get to travel all over the world. I love to be able to see what else is out there.”
So, while the LPGA does celebrate International Women’s Day each year when March 8 rolls around, the other 364 days of the calendar don’t look much different from the global holiday. The organization’s commitment to “empowering, inspiring and transforming the lives of girls and women through the game of golf” isn’t just confined within the borders of the United States, or even North America, for that matter.
The LPGA strives to accomplish that goal every day in countries across the world as they advocate for and celebrate their Tour athletes, LPGA*USGA Girls Golf participants, LPGA Professionals and LPGA Amateurs, making every day International Women’s Day.
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