You have to be good … and also pretty and nice: examining corporate sponsorship investments in the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association

Soyoung Joo, Heidi M. Parker, Risa F. (Isard) Isley and Janet S. Fink

Sport Management Review, 2025, vol. 28, issue 5, 880-902

Abstract: Though women’s professional sport sponsorships increased 22% last year, organizations still invest far more money in men’s sport and male athletes. However, the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) provides a notable counterexample in which women athletes attract far more endorsement opportunities than men golfers in the parallel Korea Professional Golfers’ Association. Seeking a better understanding of this unique relationship between South Korean women athletes and their corporate sponsors, we conducted semi-structured interviews with stakeholders responsible for these decisions. We drew from literature on endorsement deals in women’s sport as well as hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity to understand stakeholders’ perspectives – who were involved in the sponsorship decision process – and the broader environment in which they were operating. Using thematic analysis, we identified three themes. Athletic success + attractiveness = star power and media exposure reflects how athletes were evaluated on both their golf achievements and their femininity. Image congruence + feminine image = marketability illustrates the match brands sought to achieve based on their idealized image of their company and women athletes as wholesome. VIP hospitality opportunities + women golfers = success highlights the unique, albeit problematic, value that sponsors believed women golfers provided to men VIPs. This research advances an understanding of the decision-making process for sponsors, as well as the lucrative complexities facing women golfers in South Korea. We add to the literature on hegemony, with a focus on how wage structures can uphold hegemonic ideals even when women out-earn men and on the unique role sport marketing plays in doing so.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/14413523.2025.2516866

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