London, England: Syngenta Growing Golf has welcomed the announcement of the new Scandinavian Mixed Tournament as it publishes a new multi-media feature and podcast highlighting the proven appeal of parallel men’s and women’s sports events.

The new co-sanctioned European Tour and Ladies European Tour event, to be hosted by Major champions Henrik Stenson and Annika Sörenstam in June, 2020, has the opportunity to generate significant increased interest in both the men’s and women’s games.

That’s not just the view of the professional Tours, but also is supported by evidence from global measurement and analytics company Nielsen.

Nielsen’s study, ‘The Rise of Women’s Sports’, the findings of which are highlighted in Syngenta Growing Golf’s new multi-mode feature, reveals that interest levels in women’s sports are higher when men’s and women’s events are staged together.

Athletics track and field (89%), tennis (86%) and triathlon (81%) are the leading examples of this increased interest phenomenon.

And it’s not just women who are interested in women’s sports. Of the 84% of general sports fans who said they were interested in women’s sports, 51% are male and 49% female.

That’s good news for women’s golf, which could have a potential fan base of 52 million, according to Nielsen.

Mark Birchmore, Syngenta Global Head of Marketing, Turf and Landscape, who commissioned the new multi-media feature ‘Can the rise of women’s sport grow golf participation?’ – published on www.growinggolf.com – said: “The Scandinavian Mixed is an important step not just for women’s golf, but for the sport as a whole.

“What Nielsen’s research shows – and what leading commentators say in our report – is that combined or parallel men’s and women’s golf events are a massive opportunity. They demonstrate inclusivity and diversity, which is now a societal expectation, and will help move the public perception of golf in a positive direction.

“What our multi-media feature and podcast also highlights is that tournaments are only one touchpoint for golf, albeit high profile, to showcase the game to new players and inspire the next generation.

“There are, in fact, many ‘influence’ factors which clubs and courses should be aware of when targeting new players and these are explained in our feature.”

Among the contributors to the feature are BBC Golf Correspondent Iain Carter and PGA Fellow Professional Alastair Spink, founder of www.love.golf, the group coaching programme for women.

To read the full article and listen to the podcast interviews, visit: https://growinggolf.shorthandstories.com/the-rise-of-womens-sport/index.html 

For more market insights and success stories of individuals and businesses transforming golf, visit Syngenta Growing Golf at www.growinggolf.com

*Syngenta is an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation