GOLF has a new “fairy godfather” in the shape of former world No 1 Justin Rose backed by his wife Kate, a former international gymnast.
The Rose family will sponsor a series of seven women’s tournaments starting on Thursday, investing £35,000 of their own money into this tournament, which is great news for women golfers.
For a male athlete to have this level of understanding of the issues that professional sportswomen face is extremely refreshing. I believe there are very few sportsmen who would take the time to understand the problems their female counterparts will experience in the post-covid era.
When you look at the diet of sport that has been fed to us through the media during lockdown, both written and visual, you could be excused for thinking women’s sport doesn’t have a history to reflect on.
However you don’t need to invest money to help. Being aware of everyday sexism in sport, and calling it out, is of major value to ensuring an equal sporting landscape for men and women. One other male who springs to mind as an active advocate for all sportswomen at all times, is our own Andy Murray, who has an instinctive sense of equality and is not shy to call-out journalists, in particular, when their politically correct mask slips. Rose said he was keenly aware that he now has the opportunity to go back to work and compete on the PGA Tour, but felt this was not the same for the ladies and some junior tours as well. All sports are keen to kickstart their seasons and keep sponsors happy. My concern is the focus on our return will be solely on the male side of the game and that many of the steps women and girls have taken will fall by the wayside.
After such a successful Solheim Cup at Gleneagles last year, which clearly showed the public’s appetite for attending and watching women’s golf, it’s surprising that it has taken an individual to ensure women can kickstart their 2020 season.
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