APRIL brings the 2023 WPGA Tour season to a close as well as our inaugural Women and Girls Month delivered in collaboration with the PGA of Australia and Golf Australia.
The highlight of the season had to be The Athena.
Now in its third year, The Athena is like no other professional women’s golf tournament in the world. Everything about The Athena is new and different and fun, from the format to the competitors to the audience we’re targeting.
Played over two days, 12 of our best up-and-coming women golfers battle it out for top honours.
Day 1 features nine holes of challenge-based play, with the top eight progressing to Day 2 featuring four-hole knockout play – ultimately crowning Grace Lennon The Athena champion.
The Athena gives these up-and-coming women the opportunity to accelerate their professional tournament experience as they prepare to take the next step in their careers.
The small field creates a completely unique environment meaning each player is guaranteed significant broadcast time, social media coverage, media engagement and pre-tournament opportunities not usually available to up-and-comers at a regular golf tournament.
The concept of The Athena was developed in partnership with Foxtel to ensure we were creating a product that viewers wanted to see.
It’s golf in snack size.
It’s happened in cricket, it’s happening in tennis, and now in golf.
It’s what a younger audience wants to see, and I’m delighted the WPGA Tour is leading the way in this space. With the 2023 WPGA domestic season coming to a close we cast our eyes to the 2024 season with planning already in progress.
“The highlight of the season had to be The Athena.”
We came close this season to our pre-Covid schedule and we have plans to grow the tournament, which will provide our players with more playing opportunities and pathways to international tours.
In 2022 we saw Grace Kim, Karis Davidson and Su Oh secure their LPGA Tour cards and Kirsten Rudgeley and Gabi Ruffels secure their LET (Ladies European Tour) cards.
By working collaboratively across the golf industry, we will continue to ensure we are an organisation that provides quality playing opportunities and genuine pathways for Australia’s next generation of professional women golfers.
Karen Lunn is the CEO of the APLG. 
