When Pat Bradley walked onto The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, she did not know she was going to create history. The resort hosted the first-ever competition between the best women professional golfers and came to be known as the Solheim Cup. Bradley wrote her in the history books by hitting the very first tee shot. Since then, women’s golf has come a long way. Looking back, the Hall of Famer can see the difference. At the same time, there is something she wants to say to the golfers.
Bradley, when asked in the Inside the LPGA podcast, if she would want to give any advice to young women golfers, replied, “To play within yourself. Find your support systems. I had a great support system with my mom and my dad and my brothers. I have 5 brothers. They were great, great support system. They helped formulate my competitive spirit. So I think it’s important to find, you know, to get that support system.”
For Bradley, golf was easily introduced into her life. Her father, Richard Bradley, was an avid golfer himself, and it was he who kept supporting and encouraging her to pursue her dream. She started playing at the age of five in her hometown in Massachusetts. But it is not just family that she emphasizes.
“…Find a coach and instructor that you can understand, that you believe in, that will enhance your swing, your game, and not try to change you. So many years of loss, so much time is lost when you’re trying to be a perfectionist.”
Several instances from the LPGA Tour will agree with Bradley. Major names like Michelle Wie West and Lydia Ko have suffered due to bad coaching. West’s time with David Leadbetter was criticized a lot when he tried to ᵴtriƥ away West’s gifted techniques of swing mechanics. His time with Ko was also questioned when her world ranking declined (from world No. 1 to 23) significantly during their collaboration in 2016.
On the flip side, there are other positive examples too, which support Bradley’s point. Brooke Henderson works with coach Claude Harmon III, who helped her win her first major at the 2016 KMPG Women’s PGA Championship at age 18. Even Nelly Korda has time and again talked about the importance of a good coaching and support system.
She has often affirmed her trust in David Whelan, with whom she’s been working since the age of 15. “I just trust Dave so much. I wouldn’t be where I am without him.”
Notably, if you consider Korda’s stellar run at the 2024 Tour, you can’t help but wonder about the impact of her team on her performance. Two major wins and 7 LPGA victories overall, Korda was on a high run last year. And she repeated exactly what Pat Bradley said. She credited her “inner bubble/inner circle for her winning streaks to Golf.com in an interview.
“I think a young player, you need to, you know, you need to find that core and trust it, and trust your swing, trust yourself, and you’ll be fine,” concluded Pat Bradley.
Further in the podcast, Pat Bradley also took into consideration the advances LPGA and Women’s golf have made over the years.
Majorly a men’s sport, golf has, over the years, given notable women professionals who would go on to change the sport for the future generation. Bradley is indeed one of them. A Solheim Cup veteran, when asked how much the growth of the game speaks to her, had only praise for the LPGA Tour and its sponsors. “I am excited that the LPGA and sponsors have gone that route, because these young women they mirror the PGA men. They mirror in their work ethic, in their nutrition, in their swings, and so they can handle a golf course that was really built mainly for men.”
Iconic venues like the TPC Boston or the Pebble Beach, or even St. Andrews,which is often called the “Home of Golf,” were primarily built keeping in mind the strength and s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s of male golfers. Their length and their difficulty were designed around the stronger average male power in those eras. For women golfers, the events were usually held at smaller, local, and less prominent golf courses. For instance, the US Women’s Open, one of the oldest majors, was initially played at courses like the Spokane Country Club.
But over time, like in any other domain, women proved their prowess. The change in diet, the adaptation of s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s and discipline started mirroring those of their male peers. Babe Zaharia’s name always comes up in such discussions. Her rigorous training as well as competitiveness brought women’s golf to the fore. Zaharia played in three PGA Tour events against men and, in a stellar display of resilience, won the 1945 US Women’s Open after her cancer surgery. wearing a colostomy bag on the course.
In the modern era, it’s Korda who is redefining strength and build. With a holistic fitness regimen and disciplined diet, she has carved her way as the best woman golfer of this generation. Even remaining winless this season, her stats and data prove that she plays at her very best.
“I am thrilled to see our young athletes have an opportunity to go to these iconic golf courses and show their s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s and be tested, and be able to play,” added Bradley.
These are the very reasons that women’s golf has now got a reputation of its own. LPGA events like the 2013 Women’s British Open were held at St. Andrews, and the FM Championship is held at TPC Boston, providing women to compete at the highest level.
And as much as women golfers should get the credit, so do the LPGA Tour and its sponsors as per Bradley. “It’s a credit not only to their s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s as a young athletes but also to the LPGA and sponsors to taking that risk and putting the LPGA on the golf course.”
In modern times, the advances that the LPGA has taken have been groundbreaking. Just take this year, for example. The 2025 LPGA Tour featured a record 35+ tournaments in 14 US states and 11 countries. Moreover, the total prize money has surged to $133 million, nearly 90% higher than what it was four years ago. FM Championship itself boasted a purse of $4.1 million, which is the largest outside the majors and the tour championship.
And to add on to that, several diversity programs have been launched, like the Renee Powell Grant, which supports Black girls’ golf programs. Or the C-Me Action Plan that promotes inclusion and equality.
Now with a new LPGA Commissioner on board, things might get much better. “The LPGA stands at the intersection of world-class competition and global impact…the LPGA is driving the future of golf…This isn’t just about leading a sports organization – it’s about redefining what’s possible…Golf changes lives…I believe in the LPGA’s mission, its members, and its momentum,” Craig Kessler said when he became the new LPGA Commissioner.
Interesting things might be coming for the LPGA, which in turn will surely redefine women’s golf.
