The Women’s World Golf Rankings Board of Directors announced points and divisors will only change and age on weeks when an athlete competes.
The Rolex Rankings are back – with a significant modification.
While the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, the Women’s World Golf Rankings Board of Directors announced on Monday in a release that points and divisors will only change and age on weeks when an athlete competes.
On weeks when a player does not compete, her individual points, average points and divisors will not change or age, though her ranking could still shift based on the performance of other athletes who are competing.
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This allows for unusual breaks in tournament schedules, travel restrictions and players who aren’t yet comfortable competing, or only want to compete in certain areas of the world.
“The WWGR Board was keen to find a solution that was as fair as possible for the majority of athletes whether competing or not during this unprecedented time,” said Heather Daly-Donofrio, executive director of the board. “As a level of uncertainty around member tours’ tournament schedules continues, focusing on the individual athlete and the weeks she competes made the most sense. While the Board understands there is no perfect solution in these challenging times, we believe we landed on an approach that is reasonable for athletes and also protects the integrity of the ranking system.”
The rankings were put on pause the week of March 16 and no affiliated tours competed for two months as COVID-19 spread. Since May 11, the Korean LPGA has staged seven tournaments and the Japan LPGA has put on one.
The new system begins retroactively with the week of May 11, when the KLPGA restarted. The rankings will continue to be computed on a 104-week rolling period, but the period will differ based on when an athlete chooses to compete.
This board said this is a temporary modification.
Jin Young Ko remains the No. 1 player in the world. She has yet to compete on the LPGA this season.
The LPGA is set to resume next week at the Drive On Championship in Toledo, Ohio.
Spectators will not be allowed to attend the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, executive director Darrell Smith told The Memphis Commercial Appeal Thursday. The decision comes days after the PGA Tour announced fans would not be …
Spectators will not be allowed to attend the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, executive director Darrell Smith told The Memphis Commercial Appeal Thursday.
The decision comes days after the PGA Tour announced fans would not be permitted at the Memorial Tournament next week, as play continues amid the coronavirus pandemic. Spectators have not been on hand for any of the Tour’s tournaments since it returned to play in June.
Memphis’ four-day WGC event is scheduled to begin July 30 at TPC Southwind and will be broadcast on Golf Channel and CBS.
“The well-being of everyone involved with the event and our community remains our top priority this year, and while we had developed a robust health and safety plan that would include limited spectators, we ultimately felt it was best to host the event without spectators this year,” Smith said in a press release. “These decisions are never easy, and we would like to thank the city of Memphis, Shelby County, FedEx and the Tour for their collaboration. We are still very excited about showcasing the world’s best players and the City of Memphis to a global audience and continuing our mission of raising funds and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through the event.”
Smith said last month he was “cautiously optimistic” a limited gallery would be allowed to watch many of the world’s top golfers compete. But, as COVID-19 numbers have increased in recent weeks and some golfers have withdrawn from competition, Smith said playing without fans became the safest option.
Those who have already purchased tickets to the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational will be automatically refunded by their original method of purchase. For more information on the refund policy, visit WGCFedEx.com.
Also, before the Travelers Championship, Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka withdrew after their caddies tested positive. Webb Simpson withdrew after a member of his family tested positive.
Record crowds flocked to the Memphis area’s first WGC event last year to see Brooks Koepka pull away from a star-studded field that included Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson. Dustin Johnson and Daniel Berger, who have both won the tournament at TPC Southwind twice before, have each said they plan to participate this year. Berger is coming off a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial last month.
Rickie Fowler, one of the few high-profile PGA golfers who did not play in last year’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, said on ESPN Radio’s “Golic and Wingo” last week that he plans to make the trip to the Mid-South this year.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
The LPGA star Cristie Kerr hasn’t played much since the coronavirus pandemic set in, but she’s ready to the “the juices flowing again.”
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Cristie Kerr was on the phone trying to talk golf while her son Mason was getting a haircut. Every once in awhile, she’d pause to weigh in with the stylist about gel.
Something so routine wouldn’t have really registered in the past. But with salons still not open in some parts of the U.S., their outing in Scottsdale, Arizona, seemed noteworthy.
Ahhhh. A bit of normalcy.
“Go get a lollipop,” Kerr told her son before they left the salon.
Haircuts are ordinary things that Kerr, a mother of two boys, misses out on sometimes in the hectic life of a touring pro. While the bonus time with family has been sweet, 42-year-old Kerr is ready to get back inside the ropes as much as anybody.
She recently played in an exhibition to raise money for the Fairmont Grand Del Mar employees in San Diego alongside PGA Tour players John Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Emiliano Grillo. Charley Hoffman was involved too, but Kerr wasn’t in his group.
“I think we raised six figures,” she said.
Course members paid to ride in carts – socially-distanced apart – to watch the pros.
“It was nice to get the juices flowing again honestly,” said Kerr. “I hit this beautiful, low draw 5-iron into this par 4 to 5 feet and then I just pushed the absolute crap out of the putt and I was like, ‘man, I was nervous over that!’ It’s been a while.”
Rahm is a member at Kerr’s club in Scottsdale, Silverleaf, which was open throughout the spring. Kerr said she didn’t want to ramp up her practice too early without knowing when the LPGA would resume tournaments. She’ll play the occasional 18 holes but has otherwise focused on her wine business.
“We’ve been busy,” said Kerr of her wine label, Kerr Cellars. “We actually had a pretty good first quarter. At least we were deemed an essential business in California. If this would’ve happened during harvest it would’ve been a nightmare.”
She’s spent plenty of time in the kitchen trying new recipes. Bought a new mixer to bake bread. But that’s all changing now that she started a diet to shed the extra six or seven pounds brought on by quarantine life. That’s also where the new elliptical comes in to “get in shape for the rest of my life.”
Kerr’s at-home setup also includes a net and putting mat. She’ll really get cranking on practice six or seven weeks out from competition, but for now mostly plays around on the BirdieBall mat with her kids while enjoying a glass of wine.
On Saturday, the Golf Channel will air a replay of the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, where Kerr clipped Lorena Ochoa and Angela Park by two strokes. The 75th U.S. Women’s Open in Houston was originally scheduled for this week but has been pushed back to Dec. 10-13 due to COVID-19.
Kerr actually enjoys a long history at Pine Needles, taking a share of fourth in 2001 and earning low-amateur honors there in 1996 when she tied for 36th.
“Kellee Booth and I were duking it out for low amateur honors,” recalled Kerr. “We were tied, and they put it up on the board where we stood. I had like a 30-footer on the last hole to make to win low-amateur honors, and I walked that thing right in the hole.”
Kerr can’t wait to have that feeling again. Fans can’t wait to see it.
Woods talked about the shocking death of George Floyd, being biracial in a predominately white game and her road back to the LPGA.
Cheyenne Woods competed in her first tournament since March earlier last week on the Cactus Tour, where she tied for third. The 29-year-old turned professional in 2012 after a successful college career at Wake Forest and became the sixth African-American player to join the LPGA. Woods talked to Golfweek about a wide range of topics, including the shocking death of George Floyd, being biracial in a predominately white game and her increasingly difficult road back to the LPGA.
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I hadn’t played since that first Symetra event the first week of March, so for me it was very strange. I’d been playing money games and playing around with friends. The first few holes it kind of hit me when I realized I had to actually putt everything out. You don’t just get to pick it up.
I was signed up for the first Cactus Tour event. It was the week of the Founders Cup (in March) when everything was announced and canceled, and I ended up withdrawing from it because I wasn’t comfortable. I needed to be more well-educated on the situation, on what was going on, and to make sure I was doing what was best for me, my family and everyone around me. From then to now, I have grown so much and just been comfortable with where our world is that I definitely feel safe going out and competing with these new guidelines and adjustments.
It’s crazy because the time has gone by so fast. Looking back, it’s been almost three months of being at home. It’s the longest I’ve been home since high school. It has definitely tested my optimism of accepting the reality of our situation and making the most of what’s happened.
It also forces you to get out of the comfort zone of your routine, what you’re used to in life.
Cheyenne Woods celebrates winning the 2014 Australian Ladies Masters at Royal Pines Resort.
I’m going to be in Florida for the month of June. I’m going to play those Eggland’s Best events for three weeks to a month. I’ll probably come back home and see if anything has changed with the schedule and possibly pick up Cactus Tour from there.
When we got the news of no Q-School, limited cards through the Symetra Tour, no Monday-qualifiers, it was definitely a heartbreaker. But it’s understandable. I was kind of expecting it. But it definitely forced me to adjust what my year is going to look like. I will commit, I have to commit, to playing Symetra Tour, trying to win a few times, top five, whatever (LPGA) status I get I get and then focus on 2021. Seeing what events I can get into, Monday qualifying, just trying to get back on LPGA full time.
I love baking. It’s like my favorite thing to do. I got a bike and I’ve been biking on trails in the desert. I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned about myself is that I always thought I was a homebody, but now I know for sure I’m a homebody. I love quarantine life.
I thought (Tiger) looked good. None of us really knew what to expect. He looked like he was swinging it great, played pretty well. It was a little bit distracting to have everything else going on. But from the shots that I saw, he looked good and he looked relaxed.
The TaylorMade event was for a great cause, as was The Match, but the golf world is more than just men’s golf. It was disappointing that it was put on by a golf company. I think it should represent all of golf. It is disappointing, and I know a lot of the girls felt the same way. So many instances we do get left out. So many instances people say they are advocates for women’s golf and want to help create this equality and grow the game, but then when you have the opportunity to do so, a lot of times it just falls short.
Just thinking about (George Floyd) again gives me goosebumps and chills. This is a tough reality of what’s going on in our country. It’s a storyline and it’s a tragedy that has happened way too many times in all of the history of society, but now again it’s being filmed and being broadcast on social media, so it is spreading.
It’s confusing that it’s still happening. It’s frustrating to see people still defending or not quite understanding why people are so outraged. It’s sad to see and heartbreaking that that is a reality of black America, and to think about the conversations that you have to have with your children about police interactions or how to deal with being in society in general. Conversations about it are really difficult to have. You see it in the news, it’s hard to watch, hard to talk about. But it is the reality of what people deal with so it’s important to have these conversations.
I think the older I’ve gotten the more I realize that I do have a very powerful platform as a female golfer, as a minority golfer and using that. I think as an athlete or a public figure, a lot of times you almost get forced to feel like you have to live middle-of-the-road and not go one way or another or say anything too extreme. But there comes a point where you have to have a voice and you have to speak on what matters to you because it does make a difference in people’s lives and can influence and spread a lot of positivity and change. … You see athletes like Lebron James and Steph Curry speak out about these issues and it’s very powerful to see somebody in that light have such a strong stance on something that matters to them. I think they are great role models in that sense of just truly having a voice.
With my white friends or non-black friends, they are very empathetic to what’s going on. With my black friends though, it hits more personal. It hits closer to home because in every person that you see murdered, that could be my dad. That could be my cousin. In some instances, it could be me.
So my mom is white and my dad is black, and I’ve had more conversations about this with my dad. He’s aware of how he might be perceived by people or police officers. He’s an older guy and he does not have a filter, so I have to remind him like don’t forget, be nice, just do what they say. Don’t try to talk back, don’t say anything that could anger somebody or escalate the situation.
In the past I’ve had black male friends, I’m on the phone with them as they get pulled over and I remind them, put your hands up, don’t touch anything, call me as soon as you’re good to go. Things that you never thought you’d have to worry about or have conversations about, but because of what’s going on in our country it’s not even in the back of your head, it’s the first thought that comes to mind. I think that’s really scary, but it is the reality of what we’re going through.
In being biracial, a lot of times I found myself just kind of in the middle of not fully, not necessarily accepted, but just kind of finding similarities with the majority white crowd on the golf course. Or if I’m playing in a minority tournament and it’s majority black people, kind of just in the middle of the mix. And so when I was at golf tournaments, I was a lot of times just doing my own thing.
I grew up in a white and Mexican neighborhood, white schools and white golf tournaments. That was normal to me until I was exposed to minority tournaments. Then I went to college and I was around more black people, more diverse crowds, and that’s when I kind of found more of my own identity as a biracial woman and kind of connecting with that identity. Not really feeling like I needed to fit in, but then being able to connect with one or the other or a lot of switching back and forth. But in the golf world, you are always in a majority white environment, and so it is so important to have that foundation of our own identity so no matter where you are, you’re comfortable in that.
(Junior minority tournaments were) the first time that I had ever encountered black people on the golf course. Growing up in Phoenix, we had a minority golf group that was pretty mixed and diverse, black golfers, Mexican, Asians. But those minority tournaments, it was minority golf. I had never experienced that before. I didn’t know black people really played golf like that or that they were that high-level of golfers. That’s where I met Mariah Stackhouse and Joseph Bramlett and Harold Varner. That’s where we all met and grew those relationships. It definitely showcases the level of golf throughout the country that I was never exposed to just locally. So those are very important tournaments to have.
The LPGA could have gotten a big boost through some simple measures during the “The Match II” and the TaylorMade Driving Relief events.
Let’s start with this: I enjoyed every minute of “The Match II.”
Listened to every word. Watched every shot. High-fived my husband twice on the couch and neither of us cared who won. The golf was both relatable and exceptional. The broadcasters were fresh, funny and their input was beautifully timed. Golf needs as much of Sir Charles in the booth as it can get.
And I haven’t even mentioned the charity component. An afternoon broadcast that produced that much fun for a sports-starved nation and $20 million to help those in need?
Outstanding.
How can there be downside to two Sundays of golf taking center stage and raising mega-money for COVID-19 relief?
Well, there is no a downside, but it could’ve been more. As LPGA player Mel Reid tweeted during the TaylorMade Driving Relief Challenge, the broadcasts could’ve represented all of golf.
Between both charity matches, Amanda Balionis was the only female involved in the telecasts, working as an on-course reporter in The Match. To be fair, The Match was in the works well before the COVID-19 crisis. The all-star cast of Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Peyton Manning drew an average of 5.8 million viewers on Sunday, making it the most-watched combined golf telecast on cable television.
NFL quarterback Russell Wilson came on the broadcast and donated 300,000 meals during a memorable par-3 segment in which Woods hit the worst shot.
It would’ve been great to see an LPGA player and her sponsorship partners get in on the action in a similar fashion.
The TaylorMade event could’ve been a mixed-team format. Maria Fassi and Paula Creamer are both in Florida. Some of TaylorMade’s female stars could’ve also called in during the broadcast as Jon Rahm did. Staffers who could’ve called in include Natalie Gulbis, Muni He and Charley Hull. Sung Hyun Park, who speaks limited English, was involved in a charity exhibition in South Korea with current No. 1 Jin Young Ko. Women’s golf frequently takes center stage in that part of the world.
England’s Reid, a three-time Solheim Cup participant, got hammered on social media for pointing out a missed opportunity. To the extent that she posted a follow-up tweet that said her words had been taken out of context.
People ask: “Why don’t the women just have their own event?”
It takes money to raise money. And it’s obvious to everyone that the men command more viewers and sponsorship dollars. Why not take the opportunity to help lift the women’s game in the process by introducing LPGA stars in a relaxed environment? Bring them alongside the men and celebrate both.
LPGA pro-ams have long been the bread-and-butter of the tour. The women, in particular, excel in this area of entertainment. Let them banter with the men. Let them show off skills that are so often overlooked.
Women can trash talk too. And quite frankly, the first match at Seminole could’ve used some personality.
There hasn’t been a mixed-team event on the LPGA and PGA Tours since 1999, a format that should’ve been resurrected ages ago. The back-to-back U.S. Opens at Pinehurst in 2014 were a rousing success, and Michelle Wie’s victory upstaged the men in every way possible. But there’s no sign of that happening again anytime soon.
So often it feels as though female athletes are an afterthought, if they are thought of at all.
Why can’t backers look at female golfers as added value to a broadcast? If equality is important to corporate America, then why doesn’t that extend to sponsorship and marketing dollars?
As LPGA commissioner Mike Whan says, “live your values.”
“If you’re going to say something is a value, it has to be involved in everything you do,” Whan said last year at the season-ending event in Naples, Florida. “I’ve had this conversation with a lot of CEOs. Some like it and some hate it, which is – don’t call it a value statement unless you’re going to hold that mirror up to everything.”
In my personal circle, female sports fans who don’t watch golf at all, tuned into “The Match II” and loved it. With limited competition from other sports on the table right now, it’s an ideal time to showcase players from a women’s organization that turned 70 this year.
Reid wasn’t trying to take away from the charitable cause. She was trying to point out ways to make it better. Representation matters. When male players praise the talents of female players (which would inevitably happen in such an event), it matters.
People often ask, why do women have to make it a gender thing?
We’ll stop asking – where are the women? – when the question no longer needs to be asked.
Nancy Lopez won the Sara Lee Classic for her 44th of 46 LPGA titles. She did so while five months pregnant with her third child.
(Editor’s note: This is part of our Remember This series, looking back at memorable moments in golf history.)
By the time the Sara Lee Classic rolled around in 1991, Nancy Lopez had seen just about everything the golf world could throw at her.
She already had 43 LPGA Tour victories under her belt, including three majors. She already two children with her then-husband and former Major League Baseball star Ray Knight.
She’d been the LPGA player of the year four times and she’d already been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
But winning a golf tournament while pregnant? Wouldn’t that be a first? Well, no —yet it’s still a pretty amazing feat.
Lopez marched out to a substantial lead in the 1991 event at Hermitage Golf Course in Old Hickory, Tennessee, tying the course record with a scintillating seven-under 65 in Friday’s first-round action
Pro golfer Nancy Lopez gets a hug from her 20-month-old daughter, Ashley Marie, after winning the LPGA Mazda Hall of Fame Championship at Sweetwater Country Club in Sugarland, Texas, on July 7, 1985. Lopez won by three strokes, finishing 7-under-par 281 for the 72 hole event.
In the final round on Sunday, however, she started to fade. It’s not surprising, especially when you consider she was more than five months pregnant with her third child.
Kris Monaghan took the lead on Sunday when she birdied No. 7, and then extended her lead to three strokes with eight holes to play.
That’s when Lopez’s experience took hold.
Lopez matched par on the back nine until reaching the par-four 15th, where she rolled in a 30-foot putt. She added a 10-foot putt on No. 16 and on this day — May 5, 1991 — Lopez captured the Sara Lee Classic for her 44th of what would be 46 LPGA titles, taking home a $63,750 winner’s check.
“I know myself,” Lopez told the Associated Press. “I’m convinced that if I play my own game, I can win. I felt if I let myself get involved in what everybody else is doing, I’ll fail.”
Later that year, she gave birth to her third daughter, Torri Heather.
Incredibly, it’s not the only time she pulled off a tournament win while pregnant. She was two months pregnant with first child Ashley in 1983 when she won the J&B Scotch Pro-Am. Second daughter Erinn was born in 1986, but as soon as Lopez recuperated, she played in four tournaments at the end of that year and finished in the top 5 in three of those.
(The Associated Press contributed to this article.)
Michelle Wie West’s girl tribe planned to throw her a baby shower in San Francisco on Monday. But with the LPGA Mediheal Championship canceled due to the coronavirus, friends Jeehae Lee, Kira Dixon and Nickole Raymond Tara are putting on a Zoom baby …
Michelle Wie West’s girl tribe planned to throw her a baby shower in San Francisco on Monday. But with the LPGA Mediheal Championship canceled due to the coronavirus, friends Jeehae Lee, Kira Dixon and Nickole Raymond Tara are putting on a Zoom baby shower instead. Wie joked that she’s grateful this lockdown isn’t happening during the old Nokia phone phase.
“I definitely didn’t see myself being pregnant during a pandemic,” said Wie West, “but here we are.”
Wie West and husband Jonnie, an executive with the Golden State Warriors, are expecting their first child, a girl, later this summer. Given San Francisco’s strict shelter-in-place orders, the 30-year-old’s doctor appointments have been taking place virtually as she’s not in a high-risk category.
Now that she’s in her third trimester, however, Wie West said she’ll be physically going for checkups every two weeks. Being pregnant during a global pandemic brings an unexpected layer of stress.
“At first there was no news on pregnant women getting (COVID-19) or pregnant women transferring the virus through the placenta to the kid,” she said. “But now that there are reports that it causes pre-term labor, newborns can get it, babies in the womb can get it — it’s extremely nerve-wracking for sure. We’ve been extremely careful.”
Even the couple’s birthing classes have moved online.
There was a time when the LPGA star thought she might be able to compete while pregnant. Even without the coronavirus halting play, however, that likely wouldn’t have happened. The five-time LPGA winner said she can only hit three-quarter shots these days, and stringing together four rounds while walking proved an impossible task.
“I would’ve loved the chance,” she said. “Maybe for a future baby we can rethink it. But I think with this being my first one, I was extremely anxious to not do anything to put myself in extreme stress – glad that I can stay at home and put my feet up.”
Wie West can’t wait to see what her baby looks like. She daydreams about watching her grow. Fear creeps in, too. She has a recurring nightmare in which she forgets to feed the baby, waking up in a cold sweat.
“I think being responsible for another life is scary,” she said. “I can’t believe they’re going to let us leave the hospital with her.”
While nesting at home, watermelon and fruit have been the mainstays of her pregnancy diet. She’s trying to keep up with her workouts. When restaurants are back open and she’s no longer carrying a baby, she’ll be the first in line for sushi.
“And wine,” she said. “Maybe a dash of tequila. And coffee.”
In addition to her work with Golf Channel while on maternity leave, Wie West has taped several programs around her second great passion – food.
Last month the Food Network aired a show that pitted Buddy Valastro against Duff Goldman in a mini-golf competition featuring elaborate cakes as course obstacles. Wie West hosted the cake party when she was 12 weeks pregnant.
“I don’t think the screen really portrayed how amazing the cakes were in person,” she said. “It was insane when they unveiled it.”
She was asked to slice a cake for the production staff when it was over, and in her rush to get back home, took only one slice.
“That cake has haunted me ever since,” she said. “It was the best cake I’ve ever had.”
Last week, Valastro sent an entire cake to her home to stop the craving.
Wie West has reveled in her screen time as TV analyst and host, whether talking about golf or food, and has big plans for the future.
On Easter Sunday, she hosted an Instagram Live Q&A with fellow Nike athletes Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey and Jason Day.
What’s it like being on the other side of the Q&A?
“Oh, it was way easier asking the questions,” she said. It helped, of course, that they’re friends.
But she’s not done with golf. Swing coach David Leadbetter has seen the occasional video of Wie practicing while pregnant and said that as her lower body has slowed down, the rhythm of her swing has noticeably improved.
With the LPGA’s revised schedule being pushed back to nearly Christmas, it’s possible that Wie West could still come back in 2020, particularly with the U.S. Women’s Open being held in mid-December.
If the world wasn’t dealing with an unknown deadly virus, the 2014 Women’s Open champ said she’d be taking a serious look at the back end of the schedule. But right now, much of what lies ahead is beyond her control.
“For me, I feel like there would have to be a vaccine or something of some sort,” she said, “because at that point I would be traveling with a really young baby.”
The extended break of maternity leave certainly helps the lingering wrist issues that caused her to take a break from the game for most of 2019. Leadbetter doesn’t doubt for a second that Wie West will return to competition and thinks a new perspective on life could lead to a resurgence in her game.
“So much of her happiness was based on the way that she played,” he said. “That’s definitely not going to be the case now.”
