NLU Podcast: Lisa Cornwell Shares Allegations Of Golf Channel Mistreatment
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Adam Woodward and Julie Williams at Golfweek break down Lisa Cornwell’s appearance on the No Laying Up podcast. Most concerning to viewers is the incident detailed related to this fall’s ANA Inspiration when Cornwell shared on air that LPGA player and early contender Xi Yu Lin had been unable to get new Mizuno clubs after a fitting two weeks before the ANA Inspiration. She ended up buying the sticks in the latest oddball tale of a manufacturer not giving an LPGA equipment, even as USGA rules allow for freebies that manufacturers now regularly shower on young (mostly male) amateur players.
It certainly was legitimate news but Cornwell received pushback from headquarters and was pulled from her assignment for not checking with Mizuno. Certainly a reporting mistake but one compounded by a Golf Channel correction that was not correct.
After that round, Cornwell described a heated phone call from Russell over the way it was handled, namely that Cornwell did not call Mizuno to confirm the story before mentioning it on air. Cornwell said she was aware of many other LPGA players who had a similar experience with other equipment companies as Lin.
Golf Channel brought Cornwell home from the event after that round and she did not conduct another post-round LPGA interview on air through the end of the year. Golf Channel also sent a correction concerning Cornwell’s reporting of the Mizuno incident via Twitter. Lin and the club fitter both responded that the correction was not actually correct, and Cornwell said a Golf Channel HR manager admitted the same to her. The tweet remained on Golf Central Twitter anyway.
Cornwell said the events were prominent in her next correspondence with the EEOC.
“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,” she said on the podcast. “I don’t know what organization allows that to happen but Golf Channel didn’t do anything about it.”
The full podcast is here or wherever you subscribe:
**Hall of Famer Karrie Webb has voiced support for Cornwell:
