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NAPLES, Fla. – A handful of months into Mike Whan’s tenure as LPGA commissioner, Lorena Ochoa announced her retirement. Another heavy blow to a tour that had already been pummeled to the point of grave concern.
To fully appreciate the fact that 60 women are competing this week for a $1.5 million winner’s check and $5 million purse at the CME Group Tour Championship, one has to understand where Whan has taken the tour over the past 10 years. Purses have increased 80 percent. The number of tournaments is up 50 percent. There’s more than a 100 percent increase in television coverage. (That being said, the fact that the first three rounds of this tournament are tape-delayed is an absolute shame.)
It’s a wildly successful turnaround, and Whan wants everyone to know he’s not done. In fact, that was the title of a letter he sent out to members on the eve of CME’s opening round.
CME Group Tour Championship: Round 1 tee times, TV info
“Imagine a future where half the people who play golf are women,” Whan writes. “How can we be satisfied with anything less?”
He goes on to say that the LPGA has the responsibility to be the voice for women in golf. He underlined this part for emphasis: Women represent the largest untapped potential for our game to double in size.
Whan’s contract is up late next year, and LPGA Board Chair Peter Carfagna released a statement confirming that the commissioner signed a long-term extension, without saying exactly how long.
With the LPGA’s television contract up next year, in line with the PGA Tour’s, it’s a vital time for the women’s game. Exposure is king.
But while Whan can impact so many aspects of the LPGA’s success, he can’t control who wins. And that’s the one element that’s sorely needed on this tour – a superstar.
Yes, Ariya Jutanugarn is a sensation in Thailand, and Hinako Shibuno moves the needle in Japan. Sung Hyun Park’s popularity in South Korea is akin to a pop star.
But none of those players are household names in the U.S. Just when fans are getting to know a breakout player, a new name pops up.
“You have several players out here having their 15 minutes,” said Amy Alcott as she stood near the putting green at Tiburon Golf Club.
Fans crave greatness. They respect it. They want to see records fall and rivalries form.
“If we had that one player that brought people to the golf course every week,” said Nancy Lopez, “I think our purses would grow a little bit faster too.”
2019 belonged to Jin Young Ko. The four-time winner took home two majors this season and has a chance to sweep every award on offer at the end of this week.
The question is, can she sustain it?
In some ways, Ko seems quite similar to Ochoa. There’s a joy there. A big-picture perspective that seems to indicate a willingness to embrace what comes with being No. 1. Her commitment to answering questions in English at press conferences speaks volumes about her confidence. She’s OK with making a mistake, even it doesn’t go over well back home in South Korea.
This global tour needs a global star.
Cristie Kerr doubts that we’ll ever again see a player win 10 and 11 times in a season like Annika Sorenstam.
“I think the times of Annika and Lorena and Nancy, I think those times are gone,” said Kerr. “It’s too global of a tour now, and the talent is too deep.”
Perhaps. But surely there’s a player out there who can once again transcend the game. Who can rise above the rest of the world and rekindle conversations about the greatest-ever like a Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt.
There’s a chorus line of talented players who take turns grabbing the spotlight. But no one that the sports world can rally around and point to as the face of the LPGA.
Whan spent a paragraph in his letter addressing equality, calling this a tipping point.
“How is it that nearly every company claims equal opportunity is a cornerstone of their business,” writes Whan, “but 95% of all corporate sports sponsorship dollars are spent on male sports?”
It’s a fair question. LPGA players compete for 17 percent of what the men on the PGA Tour play for in total purse value and bonus money. The Tiger Woods effect took an already existing financial gap between the two genders and created the Grand Canyon.
Does the LPGA need a dominant player? The fact that it has been asked so often in recent years points to the fact that something, or someone, is missing.
Contributing: Greg Hardwig of Naples Daily News
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