An age-old debate about the LPGA is once again going viral on the internet as the sports calendar hits its sleepiest lull over the next few weeks. Could a scratch golfer beat a professional female golfer over 18 holes without any sort of handicap or selective advantage?
The answer is no. Probably. There are exceptions to every rule but you’d have to get lucky.
If you are new to this highly-contentious debate, welcome. It sucks. A small (but vocal) contingent of amateur golfers on social media, particularly males on X, tend to believe they are significantly better at golf than the best women in the world. Some of them are trolling. Some genuinely believe they could win.
Those people are wrong.
Lets first start with tangible results. The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions invites a select group of LPGA professionals to compete alongside amateur celebrities and athletes each year.
40-year-old NHL legend Joe Pavelski finished atop the leaderboard in the celebrity division. He shot a 73 in Round 1, 74 in Round 2, 68 in Round 3 and 73 in Round 4. A Lim Kim won the professional division. She shot a 65, 69, 67 and 67. Chanettee Wannasaen was the last-place finisher. She shot a 74, 73, 78 and 74.
Pavelski is the best amateur in the tournament as a +1 handicap. He finished only a few strokes ahead of the worst professional in the tournament over the course of four rounds. He did not come particularly close to an overall win at -20.
LPGA pros are better than scratch male golfers.
An 18-hole match between women’s No. 1 Nelly Korda and YouTube golfer Grant Horvat serves as another example. He will give up multiple strokes to most people he plays against in a casual round as a former collegiate golfer. Just not Korda, who wiped the floor with him over 18 holes.
The average male golfer is not as good as Horvat. Korda whooped his butt. So. Yeah.
Statistics allude to a similar result. Although scratch male golfers average around 260 yards off the tee, LPGA players are not that far behind at 253. LGPA golfers also hit the fairway approximately 75% of the time to just 50% for scratch male golfers. From there, it would not even be close. LPGA golfers have a significant advantage over amateurs when it comes to everything else. They are more accurate, better with their irons and better putters.
Take this ridiculous shot from Mi Hyang Lee as just one example:
There is zero chance that a scratch male golfer would come anywhere close to the hole from that same line unless he got lucky. It was just another day at the office for the LPGA pro.
I saw this video hit my feed shortly after I saw a random guy on X talking about how his most recent round would put a professional female golfer to shame. The contrast between the two posts led me down a rabbit hole, which ultimately led me to write this post. A scratch male golfer could not win on the LPGA.
If you disagree with my hypothesis, feel free to shoot me an email at grayson@brobible.com with your thoughts. I would love to know why you are wrong!