Tee Sheet: Around the World of Women's Golf, Five Storylines to Pay Attention To

Life's just better when there's a lot of golf news happening. From Full Swing season 3 and TGL playoff spots, to gear and apparel collection releases—golf is firing on all cylinders and as the build up to the majors continues, we're hunkering down and locking in on the major storylines to follow along with as the first half of the season flies by.

Women's golf is staying just as busy on the other side of the world. This week is the second leg of the LPGA's early-season Asia swing, at none other than the HSBC Women's World Championship.

Asia's Major

The HSBC Women's World Championship has been nicknamed "Asia's Major", and rightfully so. The tournament has a tendency to attract the LPGA's biggest stars to enlist into the field. Nine of the top 10 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings (all except World No. 1 Nelly Korda) are competing this week, and several of them are on the first page of the leaderboard after round one.

It's one of few tournament's outside the LPGA majors to have a remarkably decorated list of players as former champions. In the tournament's 17-year history, 12 champions have been major winners, including Michelle Wie West, Stacy Lewis, In Bee Park, and Lorena Ochoa.

The limited, 66-player field has plenty of star power in Lydia Ko, Charley Hull, Brooke Henderson, and Danielle Kang—who landed a sponsorship exemption for the event.

Beyond the talent within the field, HSBC also feels like a massive party—bringing in the fun vibes with a legendary welcome party with an insane golf course as the backdrop...which is slated to host a LIV event in a couple of weeks.

The welcome party alone is enough to give us FOMO.

Scenes from the Welcome Party

How to Watch

Tune in to watch the HSBC Women's World Championship this weekend and follow the coverage with Golf Channel. (All times are eastern.)

Thursday, Feb. 27: 9:00 p.m. – 2:30 a.m. (Golf Channel)

Friday, Feb. 28: 9:30p.m. – 2:30 a.m. (Golf Channel)

Saturday, Mar. 1: 9:30 p.m. – 2:30 a.m. (Golf Channel)

Epson Tour kick-off

Back in the States, the LPGA's developmental tour, the Epson Tour begins its 2025 season in Florida this week.

Players will compete in 20 events over the course of year in hopes to secure one of the 15 LPGA cards that will be awarded at the end of the season. The Central Florida Championship is the first of those events where players hope to achieve their goal to make it onto the LPGA Tour.

One new notable change to Epson competition this year comes in the form of new equipment. Players are now allowed to use electric caddies in competition.

Previous regulations required a player to either have a caddie, carry their own bag, or use a manual pushcart. The tour is viewing it as an improvement to competitive equity benefiting their athletes.

In an official statement, Jody Brothers, the Epson Tour’s Chief Business and Operating Officer said, "The change in our player regulations, allowing this partnership to come to life, will have a monumental impact on our athletes who do not regularly utilize a caddy. Our goal as a Tour is to make the dream of playing on the LPGA Tour accessible for all our members, and this is a significant step in the right direction.”

Amateur to Watch: Gianna Clemente

The state of women's golf has never been better. The talent is unparalleled, and the next generation of stars are already making headway. Gianna Clemente first came on the scene at just 14-years-old, when she competed in three consecutive Monday Qualifiers.

Two years later, the 16 year old just had her best finish (T-30) in an LPGA event and she's a player you need to watch.

Her performance also helps the case of the LPGA's new amateur pathway program aka LEAP. The program, which is in its inaugural season, was established to give amateur athletes an opportunity to earn LPGA Tour Membership via a points system—modeled after PGA TOUR University. The points are based on different achievements and accoladed the athletes have earned in both the current year and three prior seasons. Players must collect 20 total points to secure Tour status.

T40 or better finishes in official LPGA Tour tournaments are worth one LEAP point, and with her T-30 finish, Clemente scored her second point (her first was AJGA Player of the Year honors in 2024), getting her one step closer to a career on the LPGA.

This is the LEAP program in action, and it's a great way to evaluate how the program is preforming in real time, and it'll be interesting to follow along to see how this pans out for more amateurs.

Is there a TGL expansion plan that includes the LPGA?

The TGL train keeps on rolling along as the maiden season winds down. A lot has been said about the success of the indoor golf league and its future. What's next? How does it become better?

Atlanta Drive owner Arthur Blank had a lot of thoughts this week during Monday night's match. While talking to EPSN's Marty Smith, Blank called TGL's potential "unlimited".

"I know that's a really big word. The league will continue to expand. There will be other teams added to it over time. There will probably be other formats. Potentially, there will be gals involved, which will be great for the game as female golfers are playing more and more on-course and off-course. To me, it's really, really unlimited."

We've already seen one LPGA star join in, at least on the ownership side. Rose Zhang became a part owner in the Bay Golf Club, and told The Athletic she can "can definitely see the LPGA hopping on board with it, having specific players participate in a TGL event".

Other LPGA athletes have taken a trip down to the SoFi Center to see the action IRL.

It feels kind of inevitable that women will be thrown into the TGL mix but it needs to differ from "The Match"—which saw some of its worst ratings for the Rory, Rose, Max, and Lexi iteration. Just inserting women into the current fold isn't enough, the format should be refreshed, who gets matched up with who matters, and make it a spectacle.

LPGA Commish Race

The search for the next commissioner of the LPGA continues, but updates are pending. According to Sports Business Journal, 10-time major champion Annika Sorenstam has backed former Pac-12 commissioner and Women's Tennis Association chairman Larry Scott to be the Tour's next commissioner, stating that, "he has great relationships with sponsors and the gravitas to command respect any time he enters a room."

The WTA has been a bit of a beacon of light for women's golf, in terms of consolidation and equity in prize money payouts. During his time at the WTA (2003-2009), Scott advocated for equal pay and saw success with Wimbeldon and the French Open. But perhaps the most notable wins during his time of leadership was a 250 percent increase in overall revenue, including an $88 million deal with Sony Ericsson.

While folks are discussing the good he did at the WTA, his tenure at the *now* no longer existing PAC-12 conference, has been under inspection.

Some have stronger feels about his leadership as conference commissioner.

The LPGA has enlisted a search committee to help find the next leader of the Tour, comprised of players, both past and present, board members and other independent director representatives.