19th Hole
Ex-Golf Channel Lisa Cornwell drops bombshell details of alleged mistreatment from previous employers
For those of you who aren’t on social media, you may have missed Lisa Cornwell, employed by the Golf Channel for seven years, speaking out recently alleging mistreatment during her employment with the network.
On this week’s episode on the No Laying Up podcast, Cornwell, accompanied by her attorney on the show, discussed the mistreatment.
Before getting into the allegations, Cornwell made it clear that “what she went through is nothing compared to what dozens of women at the network had faced”, and that her January 1st tweet was “calculated” as she could now finally speak out.
The allegations cited? They range from a management hierarchy that she believes actively tried to keep her off broadcasts, a “downhill spiral” which began with a broadcast alongside Brandel Chamblee, as well as an executive making fun of an analyst seriously struggling with anxiety.
The latter was the first allegation brought up on the show by Cornwell, with the incident occurring at a company dinner at the 2016 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon hosted by the head of Golf Central. Per Cornwell, this is what went down at the dinner:
“The person leading that dinner, and there are 15 people there, he’s the head of Golf Central. We have a new analyst who’s had some anxiety issues on air, and he’s basically making fun of him.
I stood up, he’s a friend of mine, I said ‘What are we doing? We don’t do this. This is not who we are. This was a big issue, and it was hard for him, and we’re not going to sit here and make fun of it.”
The “downhill spiral” which the former Golf Channel analyst claims she’ll never forget occurred on August 2018 when she appeared as a fill-in co-host alongside Brandel Chamblee – who she says “never liked me from day one”.
Cornwell revealed that she made a mistake with a strokes gained graphic on that broadcast alongside Chamblee, who responded by making frustrated gestures during the program and wouldn’t talk to her after the show ended.
Following that incident (According to Cornwell, the 4th or 5th run-in with Chamblee), she called senior vice president and executive editor for Golf Channel Geoff Russell to discuss the incident, who she later found out is friends with Chamblee. Per Cornwell, she told Russell that “I am pissed off. You have to fix this. I am tired of working in this environment, with this man, who treats me like I shouldn’t even be there.”
After being told that the incident would be looked into, Cornwell said that “there is a clear timeline from August 2018 to where things started to shift.”
In December of that year, Cornwell stated that she received a scheduling email that for the first time she would not be hosting the 2019 NCAA Championships, hosted by the University of Arkansas – Cornwell’s home state.
“I had always hosted the women’s NCAAs since I had been at Golf Channel. I get a scheduling email that I would not be the host that year at Arkansas, that I had been demoted to a reporter, and they didn’t even have the guts to tell me.”
A decision related to what had occurred on-air with Chamblee a few months earlier? Per Cornwell: “100 percent, how could you justify it?”
Last March, Cornwell and her attorney Tom Mars filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and having received a reply, they were due to send a follow-up report in September.
One of the final straws she describes then came at the ANA Inspiration. Cornwell revealed that Xi Yu Lin (Known as Janet) and her instructor Tony Ziegler had been unable to get their hands on Mizuno clubs despite a club fitting just two weeks before the event.
What resulted was that Lin and her team were forced to buy the heads off the rack at an Orlando-located Edwin Watts and had attached Nippon overnighted shafts to the heads.
Following the first round of the ANA Inspiration and before an interview with Lin, who was two shots off the lead, Cornwell referenced the Mizuno incident on air and also sent multiple tweets calling out the incident which you can see below.
Per Cornwell, a day later she received a phone call from Russell who expressed that Mizuno felt Cornwell unfairly represented them. After Cornwell explained that it’s a common theme on the LPGA Tour and that GolfWeek’s Beth Ann Nichols had written an article on it, she says that it “flipped a switch” with Russell who Cornwell claims started “cussing and screaming” at her.
Cornwell was sent home from the event three days before the EEOC report was due:
“A man, in his 60s, who was my boss, screaming and cussing me out and sending me home over a gender-related issue from a women’s golf tournament during the middle of a retaliation, gender-discrimination, EEOC case. I don’t know what organization allows that to happen, but Golf Channel didn’t do anything about it.”
Cornwell said she wouldn’t let anyone talk to her that way and that following the ANA she was never allowed to interview another LPGA player on live television again, despite covering two further majors this year.
Per host Chris Solomon, Golf Channel declined to comment on the allegations based on how he “summarised them in the email”.
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19th Hole
LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
On Friday morning, Ladies European Tour player, Hannah Gregg, took to social media to share her weekly expenses playing on the LET.
Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour:
Flights: $2600
Work Visa: $350
Food: $377
Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé
Hotel: $0 because @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week! ?
Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car ??…— Hannah Gregg (@hannahbggg) April 26, 2024
“Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour: Flights: $2600 Work Visa: $350
- Food: $377
- Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé
- Hotel: $0 because @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week!
- Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car
- Gas: $165
- Entry Fee: $130
- Lounge Pass for caddie: $50
- Gym: $0
- Yardage book: $0
- Total expenses: $3672
Made cut, finished 54th, total earned: $1244 Factor in 35% tax on earnings. To break even, needed to finish 24th. To make money, 21st. Guess we have our goals laid out for next event!”
When factoring in Gregg’s free housing, free caddie and free rental car, it’s evident that most LET players would have to finish well inside of the top-20 to make any money.
With ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around in professional golf these days, it’s important to remember the other side of the coin as well. There are countless professionals out there who struggle to get by on their golf salary.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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19th Hole
54-hole golf tour deemed eligible for OWGR points…but it’s not LIV
After a seventeen-month application process, a 54-hole golf tour was deemed eligible for OWGR points.
Unfortunately, for LIV Golf and their fans, it was the Clutch Pro Tour.
After the decision, which is effective immediately, OWGR chairman Peter Dawson issued a statement.
“This is a significant milestone for golf, and OWGR is deeply encouraged by the achievement and the continued efforts in developing the sport of golf in the United Kingdom.”
“We look forward to watching the progress of the Clutch Pro Tour as it continues to play a key role in the development of players from the region,” Dawson added.
OWGR Announcement
Read more here – https://t.co/7J4bFpawqv#OWGR#OfficialWorldGolfRanking pic.twitter.com/ZfBJWCFAm8— OWGR (@OWGRltd) April 25, 2024
The Clutch Pro Tour operates in the United Kingdom and features a 36-hole cut. It also has an open qualifying school.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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19th Hole
Charlie Woods attempting to qualify for spot at 2024 U.S. Open
As first reported by Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated, Charlie Woods will be attempting to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
The first stage of qualifying for this year’s tournament will be an 18-hole local event on Thursday, April 25th, in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
There will be 84 players in the field, five of which will reach the 36-hole qualifier that will take place in June.
Earlier this season, Charlie attempted to qualify for the Cognizant Classic, and struggled, shooting an 86.
If the younger Woods is able to qualify, he will tee it up in the same field as his father in a few months at one of the more historic U.S. Open venues.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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