Tag: Mike Whan

‘I’m on it:’ USGA’s Mike Whan responds to social media criticism of U.S. Open TV coverage on NBC

Whan is looking to make improvements after the social media outcry.

USGA CEO Mike Whan has heard the criticism.

The social media backlash from countless viewers who found NBC’s broadcast across multiple networks bordering on unwatchable due to the endless ad breaks didn’t fall on deaf ears.

“I’m on it!” Mike Whan tweeted from his personal account. “We have the best sports production team in the world here with our partner NBC Sports (Olympics, Super Bowl, etc.) and if the amount of interruptions are problematic, we will work with our partner to do better.”

Golf.com, citing multiple sources, reported that “stakeholders from both the USGA and NBC held conversations on Saturday to address the social media backlash to the broadcast, specifically in regard to the commercial load.” It is common for the network to have daily conversations with USGA officials, including to discuss elements of the coverage.

The USGA and NBC are longtime TV partners. But the USGA struck a lucrative deal with Fox that began in 2015. This is the second year that NBC has returned to broadcasting USGA championships after buying out the back end of Fox’s bloated 12-year deal. Of the USGA’s 15 championships, the U.S. Open is far and away the most in demand among advertisers. To recoup expenses, the U.S. Open has more frequent commercial breaks.

NBC’s coverage also has been derided this week for asking viewers to flip channels between Peacock, its premium (paid) streaming service, USA Network and NBC, but not Golf Channel.

Whan is in his first year at the helm of the USGA after previously serving as LPGA Commissioner. He tweeted back at No Laying Up, who was highly critical of the coverage and tagged Whan in one of its missives.

“More TV people here than the Super Bowl (true!) so we/the USGA will work to free them up to do what they do better than anyone,” Whan wrote. “This has been a great U.S. Open and we will work to make 2023 at LACC even better!”

The last hour of Sunday’s broadcast of the final round should be more to the liking of viewers as it will be shown commercial-free thanks to Rolex, which is an official USGA partner.

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Lynch: As the USGA debates how to fight the Saudi threat, golf might fall before it decides to act

Whan is reluctant to be dragged too early into a war not of his making, or pinned down on actions he might take.

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Wednesday at the U.S. Open is traditionally when the leadership of (North American) golf descends from its fabled ivory tower to deliver a state of the nation and field inquiries about its premier championship. At the 122nd Open, the USGA’s preamble was so ponderous that another handful of over-the-hill competitors could have hobbled over to LIV Golf before the assembled media posed questions, some of which were even about the tournament.

The result was a Triple ‘A’ day at The Country Club.

The first ‘A’ was affability, as Mike Whan — in his first Open as CEO of the USGA — used his trademark enthusiasm and good humor to convey a fresher image of his outfit, one less stuffy, less prone to choking on its cravat. Whan has a lot of progressive ideas and he summarized them, if not briefly, then with commendable conviction.

The second ‘A’ was alliance-building, specifically as it relates to the process around the distance debate, which in a more nostalgic era was considered golf’s thorniest topic.

“It’s slow and deliberate and designed to make sure we aren’t sneaking up on anybody,” Whan said 30 minutes into a slow and deliberate press conference, marking the moment when he first brushed against a subject his audience wanted to hear about. “It’s designed to make sure we have to stop at every step and actually create a listening period.”

The most recurrent ‘A’ of the day was avoidance, manifested in Whan’s obvious reluctance to be dragged too early into a war not of his making, or to be pinned down on actions he might take when inevitably conscripted into combat.

In explaining his decision to allow golfers allied with the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series (and subsequently suspended by the PGA Tour) to compete in the U.S. Open, Whan deflected with the consummate skill of a veteran political candidate. “In February, 30 guys played for the same promoter in Saudi Arabia with an acceptable release from the PGA Tour, and for years the DP World Tour has had an event there, same promoter,” he said.

“We also had to ask the question, if you’re going to put that kind of clause in, who gets in, we’ve got to go back to 9,300 people. It becomes a pretty slippery slope to try to apply that across 9,300 people,” he added, referencing the number of entrants who originally signed up for the championship.

It was artful evasion. The dilemma doesn’t involve 9,300 people, nor even the 156 who actually made it to this Boston suburb, but only the 15 LIV players in the field. And the “promoter,” to use Whan’s anodyne term, is a subsidiary of a sovereign wealth fund that’s financing a hostile takeover of the professional game. Whan worked gamely to create an impression that a decision to eject the Saudi 15 was simply too administratively challenging when, in fact, it was merely too controversial and legally precarious.

Any attempt to bounce MBS’s boys would have been, in the argot of Ian Poulter, a little previous. Whan knows the sands are shifting quickly on the Saudi question, that others are better positioned to act first, and that the time when the USGA can be most effective is not quite at hand.

“To be honest with you, what we’re talking about was different two years ago, and it was different two months ago than it is today,” he said. “We’re not going to be a knee-jerk reaction.”

Interested parties in Riyadh and Ponte Vedra were surely anxiously parsing Whan’s words for signals of support, and there was some. If and when the USGA circles its wagon behind Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour, it will be in the form of making it more difficult for LIV golfers to compete in the U.S. Open — significant since the Saudis have assured any potential recruits that they can continue to compete in majors. Whan confirmed that he was open to revising the parameters used to qualify (or disqualify) competitors from future Opens, just not for the ‘22 edition, the criteria for which had already been published and executed.

“As we would do any year, we’re going to definitely reevaluate field criteria. We would any year. We will take a look at what the landscape looks like,” he said.

And will PGA Tour suspensions get his attention in drafting that criteria?

“They already did,” he replied. “It got our attention for this championship.”

Whan’s comments provided scant succor for the Saudis, but also left an unmistakable sense that the professional game might have disappeared beneath the waves of whataboutism and sportswashing before any USGA life raft launches. The next crest in this crisis lies just beyond the close of this championship, so today demanded something more than ambiguous hints about future solidarity. Golf fans opposed to seeing the sport auctioned to MBS needed a strong voice to ring clear today. It was not heard.

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Team USA doesn’t have to end after the Curtis Cup. Here’s why Mike Whan’s desire to reshape American golf is so important

The idea of belonging to a national team doesn’t have to end after this week.

ARMORE, PA. – It’s difficult to look at this year’s U.S. Curtis Cup team and think there’s a problem with women’s golf in this country. After all, there are some potential world-beaters on this squad. Just look at world No. 1 Rose Zhang.

If recent history is any indication, however, only one or two players from the eight-player roster at Merion will go on to win on the LPGA. In the past 20 years, 11 out of 69 American Curtis Cup players have won on tour.

USGA CEO Mike Whan had a front-row seat to what the rest of the world has produced in women’s golf as LPGA commissioner. As he championed LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, which exploded under his tenure, only one American, Stacy Lewis, has been LPGA Rolex Player of the Year since the 1990s. Only three Americans – Nelly Korda, Cristie Kerr and Lewis – have been No. 1 since the Rolex Rankings debuted in 2006. The last American to win Rookie of the Year: Paula Creamer in 2005.

Not long after Whan took the helm at the USGA, he told Golfweek that it was “embarrassingly past time” for the United States to have a development program. After all, every other country has one.

“My mom said that’s the one thing holding Americans back,” said Emilia Migliaccio, whose Swedish mother was an elite amateur, playing on the same Arizona team as Annika Sorenstam.

Members of the USA Team are seen at the start of the flag raising ceremony before the start of the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Thursday, June 9, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)

At last week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, a pair of Swedish national coaches were on hand in North Carolina, looking after both the amateurs and professionals in the field. LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad phoned Patrik Jonsson the week before the event and asked for help with a caddie. Jonsson flew in a retired Sophia Gustafson, a five-time winner on the LPGA, to guide the promising young player. Lindblad tied for 11th.

The Swedish national team hosts camps in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the south of Spain during the fall and winter, where other European countries come together for competition. What started out as a program for juniors and amateurs has been expanded to include professionals.

There’s even housing for young pros to share in Arizona, a hub of sorts, with access to practice facilities and like-minded dreamers.

“It’s not a holiday apartment,” said Katarina Vangdal, who oversees both the men’s and women’s national programs for Sweden.

Pia Nilsson, co-founder of Vision54 and a former Swedish national coach, once told Golfweek that there’s so much golf knowledge available in the U.S. that young aspiring players don’t know how to access.

“When there’s too much competition and no sharing,” she said, “you’re not taking the full advantage of it.”

Whan recently hired Heather Daly Donofrio as the USGA’s Managing Director of the new developmental team for U.S. players ­– both men and women. A two-time LPGA winner, Daly Donofrio most recently served as Chief Tour Operations Officer for the LPGA.

“This is the best thing that could happen for junior golf in the U.S. right now,” said NYU men’s and women’s golf coach Katie Rudolph. “There’s not another initiative we need. We need to start to prepare our kids to get to the next level.”

Prior to NYU, Rudolph spent a decade as Chief Operating Officer for the First Tee of Metropolitan New York. She’s also the longtime private coach of Megha Ganne, who makes her Curtis Cup debut this week.

Ganne, who will be a freshman at Stanford this fall, said there’s no rallying support for American players at big events like there is for international players.

“The strength of the game is there,” said Ganne, “but the other teams have a united force. They have each other to lean on or a coach or an assistant, people telling them more information about the golf course and practice rounds. Even figuring out the basics like hotel rooms and where we’re going to eat that you’re always on your own for, which is harder than you think.”

USA team (standing left to right): Emilia Migliaccio, Amari Avery, Rachel Heck and Rose Zhang, (sitting left to right): Rachel Kuehn, Latanna Stone, team captain Sarah Ingram, Jensen Castle and Megha Ganne pose for the official team photo with an iconic Merion wicker basket flagstick before the start of the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Thursday, June 9, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)

While additional resources are key, particularly for those who have the raw talent but don’t have the financial means to put the rest of the puzzle together, there’s a human element there, too.

“Everyone wants to feel like they’re a part of something,” said Vangdal.

Anna Nordqvist, a three-time major champion, has worked with Jonsson since she was a teenager. They still come together to bounce ideas and break down stats. Nordqvist also likes to attend camps with young Swedes to pass down what she’s learned.

Migliaccio would like to believe that the culture on the LPGA among American players could become more cohesive week-to-week in the coming years. While she doesn’t have plans right now to turn professional, she has talked about this subject with Curtis Cup teammates Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck, who compete together at Stanford.

“I think when you get on a team, even if you’re someone who prefers to be by themselves, you realize how beneficial being on a team is, “said Migliaccio.

“We’re only uplifting each other. Rose and Rachel are so passionate about it. They want to make sure that when they’re the veterans on the LPGA, that a rookie can come up to them and feel OK with saying hello and asking for advice or playing a practice round.”

The idea of belonging to a national team doesn’t have to end after this week.

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Lynch: Three major championships will be cheapened in this season of Saudi sportswashing

The 58 days between Tuesday at Southern Hills and Thursday at St. Andrews promise to be a contentious period.

In their more reflective moments, it must rankle the triumvirate of Messrs. Waugh, Whan and Slumbers that the most compelling drama in golf over the coming months is likely to occur outside the ropes of their respective major championships. The 58 days between Tuesday at Southern Hills and Thursday at St. Andrews will be contentious and do much to shape the sport’s future landscape, and will leave many industry executives yearning for the halcyon days of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, when the influence of oil money in the game was considerably less toxic.

Seth Waugh’s PGA Championship is already being impacted. Phil Mickelson registered for the tournament but his agent said no conclusion about his schedule should be drawn from that, or his simultaneous request for permission from the PGA Tour to play a Saudi-funded event in the U.K. on June 9-11 (grimly meaningful numbers where the Saudis are concerned). Mickelson could defend his title at the PGA Championship, or he might stay home in the knowledge that doing so would only generate greater attention for the LIV Golf Invitational near London as the possible scene of his return.

The Saudi event in Britain is really just a distraction. Precedent exists for overseas money grabs so the PGA Tour will probably grant the necessary releases (perhaps with conditions attached) for members who want to compete, as it did for the Saudi International in February. Commissioner Jay Monahan’s decision must be rendered by May 10.

The first shots in the real war will be fired one week later.

Tuesday, May 17, falls during the week of the PGA Championship and is the deadline by which PGA Tour members must apply for waivers to compete in the second Saudi event, scheduled for July 1-3 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, Oregon. Monahan’s decision on those asks must come no less than 30 days before the first round, or by Wednesday, June 1, but could be delivered at 5:01 p.m. on May 17. It will be a no.

PGA Tour rules do not allow releases for tournaments held in North America against its own schedule. Players know this—all of them signed up for the policies governing membership—so those who request an okay for Portland will be suspected of either stupidity or sedition. By May 17, the Tour will know who wants to play for Saudi cash in the U.S., a list that will probably include the names of some who intend to compete even without a release. And that’s where Monahan’s red line will be drawn, a belief emphasized in messages I’ve received in recent days from a number of his members.

Two scenarios then emerge: a player defies the Tour, triggering disciplinary action and potential litigation; or, the Saudis—under the innocuous-sounding moniker of LIV Golf—sue over the Tour’s refusal to grant releases, which would at least be an improvement on how the Crown Prince’s operatives usually handle disputes.

So Mike Whan’s U.S. Open will take place one week after the Saudi’s U.K. event and amid the fallout from waivers being denied for Portland. The toppling dominoes then reach the office of Martin Slumbers, whose Open Championship begins 11 days after Portland concludes. It’s feasible that by then Monahan may have issued suspensions. Will the R&A allow PGA Tour members not in good standing to compete at St. Andrews?

“There is no specific condition on that,” said an R&A spokesperson, wording sufficiently vague as to deny certainty to all. The same inquiry went to the U.S. Golf Association, although suspensions are unlikely prior to the U.S. Open. A USGA spokesperson replied: “We pride ourselves in being the most open championship in the world. However, we reserve the right, as we always have, to review suspensions from other golf organizations on a case-by-case basis.”

If the R&A takes a similar tack, then some well-known players might be denied entry to the 150th Open, though the names generating most speculation are unlikely to be of concern to the engraver come Sunday evening anyway.

The 58 days from May 17 to July 14 will reveal the extent to which golf’s bodies view Saudi sportswashing as a shared challenge. Absent from that fight will be Alexandra Armas. The CEO of the Ladies European Tour is continuing her ghastly flattery of the Saudi regime, to whom she bartered her circuit in exchange for sponsorship of five events. “To many of our members, these events feel like majors,” she gushed this week.

The LET runs on fumes—purses in non-Saudi tournaments are typically around $300,000—which is why Armas has put members in the position of choosing between abetting Saudi sportswashing or not making a living. It’s easier to understand her rationale than that of men on lucrative tours who make an individual choice to take Saudi money, but the decisions made by either are worthy of derision.

If the attempted Saudi hijacking of golf is ultimately repelled—an outcome far from certain—there ought to follow a proper reckoning on where and with whom professional tours do business. However much the tours view this as a matter of commerce and competition, there also exists a moral imperative to ensure golf is not used to normalize authoritarian states. The LET won’t lack company in the dock. The Asian Tour sold itself wholesale to the Saudis. The DP World Tour has long been compromised by visiting undemocratic provinces. So too has the PGA Tour with its presence in China.

Those indulgences are indefensible and should cease. Doing so might even weaken the water sprinkler of Whataboutism on social media, a phenomenon powered by clods who think discussion of one wrong is illegitimate unless it’s footnoted with misdeeds by every organization, individual, company and nation they deem indictable.

In the coming weeks, three of golf’s four great championships will feel the repercussions of years of improvident deal-making by tours whose commercial decisions helped lead to the geopolitical juncture at which the game finds itself. All four majors might ultimately prove to be the last bulwark against the entire sport’s looming disgrace.

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USGA nearly doubles U.S. Women’s Open purse to $10 million; five future sites announced

The U.S. Women’s Open just set a new benchmark for women’s golf.

The U.S. Women’s Open just set a new benchmark for women’s golf.

With the addition of its first presenting sponsor in ProMedica, the purse for the USWO has been elevated to $10 million for 2022, nearly doubling last year’s purse of $5.5 million. There are plans to increase the purse to $12 million over the next five years.

In addition, five future sites were announced: Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California (2026); Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio (2027); Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina (2029); Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minnesota (2030); and Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (2031 and 2042).

The 2022 U.S. Women’s Open returns to Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club June 2-5. In 2023, the championship will be contested for the first time at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Last summer, the AIG Women’s British Open set a new record for women’s golf with a $5.8 million prize fund. This year, when the event moves to Muirfield for the first time, players will compete for $6.8 million.

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Dusek: USGA and R&A’s club-length rule might be just the first shot in a larger battle over distance

The USGA and R&A have created a new Model Local Rule, possibly paving the way to bifurcation by another name.

Tuesday’s announcement came as no surprise to the golf industry. We knew this was coming. The USGA and R&A have created a Model Local Rule to give tournament organizers the ability to limit the length of all non-putter golf clubs from 48 inches down to 46 inches starting Jan. 1.

That was the easy one. Now comes the hard part.

The USGA and R&A want to reign in distance because they see a trend of golfers hitting the ball farther and courses having been made longer over the past several decades. The game’s governing bodies see that as unsustainable and destructive for the game. However, they also want to maintain a single set of rules for everyone and remain steadfastly against the concept of bifurcation. The same rules should apply to Justin Thomas, Nelly Korda, you and every other recreational golfer.

So how do you change the rules and equipment standards to limit what Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Tony Finau do without making things tougher for the weekend players who buy gear, book tee times and, in the end, finance the sport? How do you keep Korn Ferry Tour players from cutting the corner on long dogleg par 5s and going driver-wedge into the green without making the game less fun for everyone else?

Perhaps the USGA and R&A tipped their hand with Tuesday’s announcement and gave us a clue. The answer could be semantics. You simply don’t call it bifurcation and instead create tools to produce different playing environments for varying levels of players.

Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior managing director of governance, confirmed to Golfweek that the new Model Local Rule governing club length would be in place in June at the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. It will be in place at all of the USGA’s championship events, and the folks in Far Hills, New Jersey, and St. Andrews, Scotland, must love that the PGA Tour and LPGA will adopt it, too. Pagel said the USGA will go to events to educate players about the Model Local Rule and answer questions well before the USGA hosts its national championships.

However, the USGA and R&A stated that the Model Local Rule is intended to be used only at elite events. You will still be allowed to use a 47-inch driver at your local member-guest or club championship next summer. It’s bifurcation by another name.

Yes, very few players use a 47-inch or 48-inch driver, so this Model Local Rule will not affect many people, but you can see how Model Local Rules could be handy for curtailing distance. If they so choose, the governing bodies could introduce more Model Local Rules that, if implemented, mandate the pros and elite amateurs use golf balls that don’t fly as far as those available at retail or driver faces that are not quite so springy as those the rest of us might buy.

Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson has expressed his irritation over the Model Local Rule that limits club length in elite competitions. (Jamie Squire/Allsport)

Except for one sticky problem: Equipment companies will hate making clubs or balls to conform to a series of Model Local Rules. They will want to fight it.

Creating clubs and balls to fit new, less-efficient specifications would be expensive and take time away from designers and engineers paid to make gear that companies can sell. Weekend players will not want to buy a driver that Xander Schauffele has to use in PGA Tour events that has been slowed down to conform to a Model Local Rule. No one will want to buy a less aerodynamic Titleist Pro V1 that Jordan Spieth is forced to use. And if Titleist has to make such a ball to conform to a Model Local Rule on the PGA Tour, it will need to make thousands of those balls for staff players.

Plus, as anyone who recently has tried to buy a new set of irons or have their clubs re-gripped can tell you, golf equipment makers are facing supply chain issues. Product is scarce and delayed, and that unfortunate circumstance may continue for months or years. Model Local Rules that mandate distance-reducing gear for elite golfers would create another logistical headache for manufacturers who already are scrambling.

Mike Whan, the new CEO of the USGA, worked in the golf equipment industry before taking the helm at the LPGA Tour as its commissioner, his previous post. He knows all the problems. Still, in a July interview with Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols, he did not sound afraid of a tussle with equipment makers.

“Everybody evolves not only to make the game better, but to make sure it’s great for the next 100 years,” Whan said. “It’s important. I won’t lie to you and say it’s going to be popular, but it’s important and I think it would be irresponsible for us not to relook at something that the last significant look was 1976.” 

Mike Whan
Mike Whan took over as CEO of the USGA in 2021. (Copyright USGA/Robert Beck)

He added, “I feel like if you want to critique the USGA, the fair critique is why not before now? I think that’s a fair critique. But why now? I think you’re stretching if you don’t think at some point we need to make sure we establish some new parameters.”

Using more Model Local Rules to reduce distance at the pro and elite amateur levels could be messy, but it might work. The LPGA Tour, which does not have a distance problem, could ignore them and carry on using the same gear as recreational golfers while PGA Tour, Korn Ferry and other elite men’s tours force the guys to play with distance-reducing clubs or balls. 

See bifurcation in reality, just not in name.

In February the USGA and R&A announced they wanted to research things such as the limitation of ball efficiency, golf ball sizes and weights, reducing driver size and volume, and reducing the spring-like effect in faces and moment of inertia in clubheads. The comment period for those research reports ends Nov. 2, to be followed by a lot of number crunching and meetings.

If history is a guide, we might learn more about what the USGA and R&A intend regarding distance in January or February. Tuesday’s announcement of a Model Local Rule to reduce maximum club length is not a part of the central drama. We have plenty of time to get some popcorn and find a comfy seat before the real show begins.

New LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan rolls up her sleeves with 100-day plan

The new Commissioner has a plan for the first days of her tenure with the LPGA, and Phase I consists of listening and learning.

Mollie Marcoux Samaan began work as the LPGA’s ninth commissioner on Monday. On the drive over from her rental home in Winter Park, Florida, to tour headquarters in Daytona Beach, she texted predecessor Mike Whan to say that she was on her way.

“You’re going to hate the commute,” Whan told her, “but you’re going to love the people and you’re going to love the job.”

IMG and her new tour family sent bouquets of flowers to brighten up the office. She had a box of family photos in the car. Decorating isn’t exactly a priority for Marcoux Samaan, who has created a 100-day plan that would essentially end as the tour wraps up its 2021 season in Naples, Florida. Phase I consists of listening and learning.

Marcoux Samaan, who was named commissioner in late May, met with members of the press on Thursday, and while she didn’t lay out specific details of future plans, she did share a passion of growing the consumer base from a marketing perspective.

“We have amazing stories to tell,” she said, “and I feel like more of the world should know these stories and should know our amazing athletes.”

Over the past two months, Marcoux Samaan has transitioned out of her role as Princeton athletic director, found a new place to live with her husband, three kids – Maddie (18), Catie (15) and Drew (12) – and dog near the Winter Park Golf Course. She plans to make the Solheim Cup the first official event she attends as commissioner. From there, Marcoux Samaan said she’ll be at all remaining events on the 2021 LPGA schedule.

Golfweek met with Marcoux Samaan on Thursday in her new corner office digs. Here are excerpts from that conversation: 

Tell me about your family.

My husband is Andrew. He’s a lawyer and he’s done a lot of entrepreneurial things, but he is joining forces with a client that he’s had for years and they are starting a venture capital fund in September.

I have an 18-year-old daughter who graduated from high school, but she’s taking a PG (post graduate) year back at the same school. She went to The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, that’s a boarding school but she was a day student. She’s an ice hockey player and really committed student. She’s committed to Williams College for ice hockey, but she’s taking a year because of COVID …  going back and she’s going to be a boarder. She’s been a little too serious. I’m like go have some fun. Not too much fun, but go have some fun.

And then I have a junior in high school, a girl, who started school today and you can imagine how excited she is to be going to a new school her junior year, but she’s doing great and she’s going to Lake Highland Prep. She started this morning. Her uniform is too big for her, and her brother was late and all of that, but she’ll be fine. She plays soccer and lacrosse and she’s a pretty committed student as well and a great kid. She’s been giving it to me a little bit about the move, but she’s been largely positive.

Then I have a 12-year-old son who is a whole different enterprise. During this whole transition part of it was like two jobs, and the house and schools and the move but what people didn’t know was that I was constantly on him to finish the school year. He had kind of decided that he was done, but school hadn’t decided he was done. Someone asked and I said my hardest job right now is getting him to finish his homework.

But he did it all, and got it done. He’s really an easy kid, upbeat, a great athlete. He’s fine. As long as they have lacrosse, as long as they have golf, soccer, hockey.

So he’ll be on the golf team?

He plays golf, it’s not his main sport. We play together as a family, but he’s never really competed. But he decided he wanted to try out for the golf team and in typical working mother fashion, I did not get all the forms in in time so he is now trying out next week.

I talked to Mike a while back and he indicated that you guys had talked a lot. How often have you talked via phone or text?

We had two long meetings, spent a whole morning with him up at the USGA office and he came down and spent a couple hours. Three or four phone calls and a decent number of texts. Really more he’s just like whatever you need.

The senior executive leadership team, I really have been on that call every week since the announcement. In the beginning, just really listening and then now being able to run that meeting. That has given the most context.

I know you’ve been to a couple tournaments so far, and I’m sure you’ve had other conversations with check writers. I’m wondering what has been the most impactful or informative conversation you’ve had with a check writer about how all of this goes?

I don’t want to necessarily single anyone out … for example, listening to KPMG CEO Paul Knopp, I got to have lunch with him and his senior team and hearing kind of their passion for what we do but then he kind of impromptu had to hand the trophy to Nelly Korda and

his words were very heartfelt … just seeing how much it meant to him. Same thing with Jim Fitterling at Dow. He was there every day. That’s the other thing, these CEOs being at the events all week and engaging in all parts of it. Again not to single anyone out, I had a great conversation with Terry Duffy at CME and the great passion that he shows.

Mostly just to say God, these top level CEOs really love the LPGA, and what it says and what it does and how they use it.

When Stacy Lewis was the No. 1 player in the world, the tour developed a lot of strong partnerships out of that time … what do you think Nelly’s impact could be on the tour and how do you think you can capitalize on this moment in time?

Listen, she’s a great ambassador. One of the things you notice when you see her is, oh my God this is an athlete. I saw a picture of when I was handing her caddie the (No. 1) bib, and she’s like a foot taller than I am and I’m not necessarily short. She just has a tremendous presence and a tremendous amount of athleticism and she’s just a great representative. I do think our stars are really important, our whole membership base is really important.

You talked in a previous conversation about the importance of wanting to narrow the financial gap between the men and the women. Have you thought more about how you might do that?

It’s not an easy fix. If it were an easy fix someone would’ve done it a long time ago. Two things, one knowing that’s sort of a goal and putting that front and center and how we get there. And then just looking at what flows to that. What do we need to do across the whole ecosystem to get to that point? Looking at all of our tournaments, growing partnerships, growing relationships and looking at our full tournament complement. I do believe that it’s like a tipping point. The more we can expose the world to our athletes, the more interest there is, the more the rising tide lifts all boats. I think the focus is to get exposure and to build an audience that is even larger than the audience we have. It’s just getting to the tipping point so the world sees how amazing our athletes are.

When you took a sip of that Diet Coke it reminded me of the heavily caffeinated Mike Whan. Do you come close to him in the amount of Diet Cokes a day?

I don’t know how much he drank, but I do have a bit of an issue with it. When Mike was coming to Princeton we met in the, we built this performance center at the golf course at Princeton with hitting bays and a simulator area. We have a refrigerator and I was like I’ve got to stock it, what does he eat? She’s like all you need is Coke Zero and some nuts.

You fit right in …

He could’ve just left his Coke Zero.

I know you were at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten from one of the veteran players or a meaningful conversation that you’ve had?

 I’ve been friends with Jane Geddes for a number of years. Gigi, her wife, worked with me at Chelsea Piers. We had kids in daycare together. Their twins were best buds with my son. Jane has given me a lot of great insight — but I’ve also met with Dottie Pepper in person. She and I used to play golf together as kids. We met in New York and she drove down and gave me great context.

I also had a great conversation with Nancy Lopez and met with Annika … I think just hearing Nancy Lopez’s continued passion for the LPGA … They grew up together, they were on the tour together … it’s kind of like a college. This loyalty and enthusiasm. It wasn’t a job, it was a family.

Just continuing that. I think hearing from all the players about how important that is, that as we grow, that we maintain that same gratitude and that same sort of commitment to act like a founder. I love that phrase and want to keep that.

Have you figured out this big board yet (Whan’s old dry erase board with the 2021 and 2022 schedules)?

This is interesting. This has to be kind of the crux … I think this is it. I think that’s the great advice Mike gave me. I asked him the question you just asked me … Where did you spend a lot of your time?

Our job is to provide these opportunities for our women to make a living through golf and to live their dreams through golf. This is not my writing. I’ve got it on my desk. But our team is really good, and our partners are good, but this definitely fuels the engine.

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USGA front office turnover continues; Jon Podany hired as new Chief Commercial Officer

Jon Podany, who previously worked for the LPGA and the PGA Tour, is the new Chief Commercial Officer for the USGA.

Jon Podany, who spent nine years working for Mike Whan at the LPGA, has been hired by Whan as the new Chief Commercial Officer for the U.S. Golf Association, part of a tumultuous month at the top of the organization.

Podany was most recently a partner in two companies within the college sports industry, The Brandr Group (TBG) and CampusLore.

“I am very excited to be returning to the golf industry and reuniting with Mike Whan to build on the success we’ve had together,” Podany said in a statement released by the USGA on Thursday. “I have had a lifelong passion for the game and have been fortunate to have a 25-year career in the industry, which I hope will position me well to champion and advance the game, our people and our partners.”

Whan officially started with the USGA on July 1, and on that date, the USGA confirmed to Golfweek that Chief Commercial Officer Navin Singh had left the organization to pursue other professional opportunities. Also, Chief Brand Officer Craig Annis has left the group since Whan’s arrival as has Director of Communications and Public Relations Jeffrey Altstadter, who became the director of publicity for the gambling info and tech firm PointsBet.

Podany was Chief Marketing Officer and later Chief Commercial Officer working with Commissioner Whan at the LPGA. Under that leadership, LPGA revenues grew 88 percent, the number of tournaments was increased from 23 to 34 and prize money climbed from $40 million to more than $70 million.

Prior to his nine years with the LPGA, Podany spent 15 years with the PGA Tour, including five as a senior vice president of business development. Before that he spent eight years at Proctor & Gamble. He also served as president and CEO of Arnold Palmer Enterprises for one year after leaving the LPGA.

A Golfweek source said that Podany was among the finalists to replace Whan as head of the LPGA, but that job eventually went to Mollie Marcoux Samaan, who was hired in May.

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New USGA CEO Mike Whan talks distance, money and the possibility of a national developmental team

Former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan dishes on money, distance and what he wakes up thinking about as the new CEO of the USGA.

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The first time Mike Whan walked into USGA headquarters wearing shorts and a T-shirt, he could tell employees immediately began to text about the new CEO’s casual attire. It’s a new era in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, though the full culture-changing impact of Whan at the helm undoubtedly will be slowed with so many still working from home.

Whan, the longest-tenured LPGA commissioner who rebuilt the tour from near ashes when he took on the job in 2010 and passed the ultimate stress test by seeing the tour through a global pandemic, now takes on a new set of challenges as head of golf’s governing body. 

Longtime USGA CEO Mike Davis retired from the role in June. Golfweek caught up with Whan, who officially started July 1, when he was a mere seven days into the new gig to talk about where the game might be headed under his leadership.

Changes at the USGA: Mike Whan’s tenure begins as CEO; Chief Commercial Officer out

With the start of Q3 on Thursday, a few key personnel changes also took place within the U.S. Golf Association, including one at the very top.

With the start of Q3 on Thursday, a few key personnel changes also took place within the U.S. Golf Association, including one at the very top.

Last month’s U.S. Open signaled the final lap of Mike Davis’s tenure as CEO of the organization and now Mike Whan has stepped in. Whan, the former Commissioner of the LPGA, was named as Davis’s replacement in February and officially picked up the reins on July 1.

While both the U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Open are in the rearview for 2021, the USGA is barreling toward the height of its summer season. Next week’s U.S. Senior Open marks the start of six consecutive weeks of championships.

The USGA also confirmed to Golfweek that Chief Commercial Officer Navin Singh has left the organization to pursue other professional opportunities. Singh was responsible for creating, directing and implementing the USGA’s commercial strategy, which included the broadcast production of USGA championships as well as the organization’s digital media rights portfolio and its digital media products.

Singh joined the USGA in 2016.

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