The Break: A Major in Primetime at Riviera

A big week for women’s golf

The US Women’s Open is this week, with the USGA conducting the LPGA-sanctioned major at Riviera Country Club, near Los Angeles. This event has the biggest purse in women’s golf, coming in at $12 million, with $2.4 million going to the champion (though that could change this week).

Venues matter, and there are few on the level of Riviera, which hosts the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational and will also host the 2028 Olympic golf tournaments and the 2031 US Open. The George C. Thomas masterpiece is the kind of tournament that casual golf fans will stop to watch, and they’ll be treated to world-class golf from No. 1 Nelly Korda, No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, Hannah Green, Lottie Woad, Charley Hull and so many more players.

Not only is the venue iconic, it’s also on the West Coast, meaning the US Women’s Open will air in primetime on the weekend on NBC. It’s a rare opportunity for women’s golf to get that kind of time slot, a true showcase.

No matter who winds up winning on Sunday, this week represents a spark that the LPGA can use to drive fan engagement. Investment in women’s sports has grown exponentially in the last 5 years, and viewership for many sports has gone up with it. However, the LPGA wasn’t fully able to take advantage of Korda’s 2024 record season, as attendance still somewhat lags the deserved investment in purses and improved audience that comes with better, more consistent TV coverage. This week can mark a second crack at it.

The LPGA’s new leadership has managed to get sponsors to add to purses — some even to the tune of $1 million during their tournament weeks — and has created a real excitement with the players. Now, they need to get more fans involved and get them behind the ropes, in person.

In a world where everything feels so incredibly expensive at the moment, value is king. LPGA tickets can be had for under $30 per day, and that’s great value, but relatively few people know about that. A whole day of entertainment for that price is bonkers. Take it to another level with $15 Fridays. Have add-on events that fans can attend, whether that’s networking with business leaders, enjoying discounted beer prices on certain holes or offering more golf-adjacent activities for the whole family. Have a crazy food item that’s a local delicacy. Minor-league baseball teams let kids run the bases, so maybe let kids putt on a green after play ends. The key is to get people through the gates — for whatever the reason — and show them that the product is exciting enough to come back next time just for that.

The LPGA has struggled for a long time to use its megaphone to reach more people. This weekend, there will be a wave of new people paying attention, and hopefully they will hear the good news about just how fun this tour is.

For more on Bryson DeChambeau’s new AI golf coach, scroll down!

2 Off the 1st: US Women’s Open at Riviera, Scottie goes for a three-peat

On this Tuesday episode, Ryan Ballengee looks ahead to the US Women’s Open at Riviera in Los Angeles, as well as how women’s golf can capitalize on their momentum. Scottie Scheffler is looking for a rare three-peat at Jack’s place, too, as he gets ready to try to complete the career Grand Slam at Shinnecock.

Can you do me a favor?

The Break is possible because of you, and it’s also possible because of sponsors. If you click on our ads (just open the browser window, that’s enough), then it helps A TON. If you click on 1 ad per month, I would very grateful.

The Odds are Finally in Your Favor

Novig is giving you better odds and lower fees by trading directly with other users. Skip the sportsbook markup. Sign up now and get $50 in Novig Coins for your first deposit of $5 using America's Sports Exchange

Claim Your Coins

Bryson’s new golf coach? AI

Look, I wanted to talk about something else, too. But like Lewis Black’s bit about “if it weren’t for that horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college,” I can’t get the ridiculousness of it all out of my head.

So as to not misrepresent what Bryson DeChambeau said at LIV Golf Korea after the third round, here are the two questions where mentioned it.

“I spent some long hours on the range trying to figure some stuff out and I was talking to AI quite a bit last night trying to go through some different physics principles that makes the club turn over, having some alpha torque and gamma torque put in there. I was like, what makes that possibly do that, and was talking about just grip pressure and tension.”

And, “I didn't actually figure it out on the range. I went back and started talking to Gemini and trying to figure out just what it could be to passively make the club turn over. Hands just felt like they were moving forward like this and I couldn't get the club to turn over. Even if I tried to stop it here, it still wouldn't turn over. So I left kind of frustrated and learned later that night that I just needed to relax my grip pressure and let the thing just fold over naturally.”

I’m not a big AI user, but I’ll relay a short story. My in-laws were in town over the weekend, and we wanted to order out from a pizza joint around the corner. I called to place the order, and an AI assistant was on the other line. It was very obvious. I gave it a shot to take my order, asking for a large pepperoni and sausage pizza. It got it wrong. I asked for a person, and the AI assistant went away, and a person answered and took my order. If AI can’t yet get “and sausage” right as part of a pizza order, I’m not so certain it’s ready to become Moe Norman.

I have plenty of friends who swear by the value of AI, and that’s totally fine. But how lost is a two-time US Open champion to have to ask AI about turning over the ball when any of the other 56 LIV Golf pros, including the three on his own team, could probably help?

The Links

We have the Memorial Tournament this week on the PGA, and the fantasy section of the site already is populated with a bunch of content (the field, the model, rankings, betting odds, one and done picks). Expect the ‘80s-era US Open-like setup to continue.

The LPGA has the US Women’s Open, as mentioned, which is awesome. The PGA Tour Champions have their only team event, the American Family Insurance Championship, in Wisconsin. The KLM Open is in the Netherlands on the DP World Tour, while LIV Golf is in Spain.

Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages. I post lots of stories in graphical form over there, as well as great video from players talking at tournaments — it’s more than I can post on the website!

Also, you can get a free Golf News Net membership and see less ads on the site when you’re logged in! Head on over to the site and create your account, and you won’t see our floating video player, as well as another ad or two.

From the GNN Clubhouse

• How This 79-Year-Old Picked Up 40 Yards with GolfForever

• Father’s Day Gifts for Golfers

• Shot Scope Simplifies Game Improvement with Launch of ‘The Shot Scope 6: Benchmarks for Success’

If you’d like your news included here and futher shared with our audience, I invite you to check out and join GNN Clubhouse.