Women’s golf is on the rise, led by young stars Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (AP) — Women’s golf is on the rise, a momentum swing not lost on fans and sponsors.

With an abundance of emerging stars gaining notoriety, the sport is drawing more attention — and sponsorships — in the post-Covid era. Tickets sales for this week’s U.S. Women’s Open are up more than 50% over the three-year, pre-COVID average, according to the USGA.

South Korea’s Jin Young Ko and America’s Nelly Korda are not yet household names, but are leading the charge. They combined to win nine LPGA Tour tournaments last year. Ranked 1-2 in the world, both landed on Forbes’ 2022 list of top 10 highest-paid female athletes in the world.

Ko collected $4 million from endorsements deals with LG Electronics, Jeju SamDaSoo mineral water, Korean Air and Rejuran skincare products. Korda, who returned to action this week after surgery to repair a blood clot in her arm, earned $3.5 million in endorsements with more than 10 sponsors, per Forbes. She has more than 504,000 followers on Instagram.

Lexi Thompson remains one of the biggest draws in women’s golf with her powerful swing along with former NCAA champion and August National Women’s Amateur winner Jennifer Kupcho, who is coming off her first major championship.

Then there’s 19-year-old Rose Zhang, who in the next few years might become the biggest crossover player on the LPGA Tour since Michelle Wie West, who received immense media attention when she turned pro a week before her 16th birthday in 2005.

Zhang won the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur and has been the top-ranked amateur in the world since. She won the NCAA championship last month as a freshman at Stanford and helped the Cardinal to a national title while amassing an NCAA record 69.68 scoring average.

The youth