Solheim Cup Star Calls For Mixed Team Event And 'Proper' Media Coverage

Georgia Hall has called for more media coverage for women's golf - especially in the UK - while also adding she'd like to see a full-field mixed team event introduced.

The Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup were played back-to-back this year, but as USA captain Stacy Lewis said it was a missed opportunity for the two to be marketed together.

Women's golf in the Majors has been increasing in terms of viewers and prize money, but there's still more to be done.

And former AIG Women's Open champion Hall has suggested two ways in which the women's game could be elevated - in terms of coverage and also the introduction of a new mixed team event.

"I think more media coverage, that’s number one, especially in the UK when we have the AIG Women’s Open," said Hall.

"I think it would be great if we can be shown more, at proper hours, not at midnight. And also I’d love to see a team event - a proper full-field men and women’s team event playing together.

"I think that would help elevate the women's game and it would be a lot of fun."

There are some events where men and women play together, while Lexi Thompson will take part in the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas on the PGA Tour.

Having a team event with the best male and female players playing together though is seen as one of the biggest ways to boost the women's game - but the logistics look a real headache.

It's not the first time Hall has brought up the suggestion, as she explained her thinking to Golf Monthly in a Q&A last year.

"I would like a joint male-female tournament where I would pick a male player and we would play as a team; I don't think that's really been done properly before and I think it'd be great for the coverage as well, where people can watch," Hall explained.

"There are people that only watch men's golf and there are people who only watch women's golf and they would come together and watch us. 

"I think it'd be a lot of fun and something different as well because we play so many four days straight play events, sometimes it's a little bit boring. It'd be nice just to change it up."

Hall also praised the way women's golf had been growing, and it's even improved further since.

"It's in the best shape that women’s golf has ever been in," Hall said. "When I turned professional it wasn't at its best and, over the past three or four years, bigger companies have come in, they've doubled their prize fund, just like at the Women’s PGA. 

"It just keeps getting better and better and I think companies are starting to compete and they want to have bigger tournaments for us. They want to show that they're supporting our Tour and I think it's fantastic."