Friday
Aug282009
Whither the LPGA?
Friday, August 28, 2009 at 03:32AM
Two weeks of caddying on the Duramed Futures tour has convinced me that the PGA Tour should take over the administration of the LPGA Tour.
The LPGA Tour is currently a mess. Due to the questionable leadership of former commissioner Carolyn Bivens and the ongoing economic crisis, the Tour is more or less on life support. In this climate some loss of sponsorship is inevitable. The PGA Tour has not been immune from this, but they have been proactive and accommodating in working with their sponsors to save events. As commissioner, Ms. Bivens's approach seemed somewhat draconian. She managed to turn win-win situations -- when golf tournaments are held the players, the sponsors and, most importantly, the hosting communities all win) -- into lose-lose situations. What is unforgivable is that this occurred at a time when the LPGA Tour is poised for greatness.
Let's face it, even for golf junkies, the men's tour has become a bore. This year each of the major championships had compelling stories (Perry at Augusta, Duval at Bethpage, Watson at Turnberry, and Yang at Hazeltine), but the rest of the season has largely been a blank, and the autumn season, despite the much ballyhooed Fedex Cup playoffs, remains a disaster. The average men's tour player is by and large an automaton. Truly, how many tour pros seem to enjoy their job or bother to interact with the galleries? To the general public, the only drawing card is Tiger Woods. Without him, the Tour as it currently exists would surely sink into the abyss.
The LPGA Tour is not blessed with a Tiger-like attraction. The retirement of Annika Sorenstam, in hindsight, came at the worst possible time and this season has not brought the predicted dominating performance by Lorena Ochoa. But what the men's tour lacks in personality, the ladies' tour possesses. In Creamer, Gulbis, Pressel, Kerr, Wie and countless others, the LPGA has exciting, young, marketable players. Events are extremely competitive and often are played on more interesting courses than men's events. Also, the level of play is exceptionally high. As a sports/entertainment product the LPGA Tour is poised for greatness.
However, one of the changes that the LPGA Tour must make going forward is in facilitating new players joining the Tour. Currently there are too many players who simply no longer possess the game to be competitive yet have exemptions into events. The tour must not give in to the pull of nostalgia and should make more spots available to young players on the rise. Here the LPGA must follow the lead of the PGA Tour and put strict limits on qualifying exemptions. The Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour Q-School feed the Tour new, qualified players and provide the mechanism that ensures the highest quality field week in and week out. The men may be boring to watch, but they can all play.
The Duramed Futures Tour must play a larger role in the future of the LPGA Tour. The Futures is the "minor league" ladies tour, the counterpart to the Nationwide Tour. However, the one major difference is that a Futures Tour player stands little chance of earning a living. The average purse on the Futures Tour is just over $100,000 -- the average Nationwide purse is nearly seven times that. Generally speaking, a player must finish in the top 15 to crack the 4-figure payout. The tour is billed as a "Developmental Tour," and rightly so. It is imperative that aspiring pros develop the game, the routines and the social skills that give them the best opportunity for success. However, to achieve this there has to be adequate prize money. No player should be able to make a killing without reaching the highest level, but every player should have at least the opportunity to be self-sufficient. In two weeks of observation, it is clear to me that the Futures Tour is an important part of the LPGA's future. The events are conducted with class and precision by a dedicated field staff and contested by players with big dreams and big golf games. All involved deserve just a little more support from Daytona Beach.
It appears that interim commissioner Rear Admiral Marsha Evans is making the right moves in assuaging troubled sponsors. She also appears to have a proper vision on the Tour's future, one that does not rely solely on major markets but is open to small and medium-sized markets which will increase the fanbase and position the Tour for growth even if the economy continues to lag. However, the degree of success she can achieve in mending fractured relationship in the short run remains to be seen. In the long run a close association with the PGA Tour seems a no-brainer. With improved marketing, joint media buys, mixed team events and countless other strategies both tours would benefit from an association. The PGA Tour players could learn quite a few lessons from their LPGA counterparts that could return some interest to the men's game, and the LPGA players, current and future, could have a proper stage on which to display their game.
The game of professional golf needs a little shakeup to create some non-Tiger interest. The two tours working together may be the best place to start.
The LPGA Tour is currently a mess. Due to the questionable leadership of former commissioner Carolyn Bivens and the ongoing economic crisis, the Tour is more or less on life support. In this climate some loss of sponsorship is inevitable. The PGA Tour has not been immune from this, but they have been proactive and accommodating in working with their sponsors to save events. As commissioner, Ms. Bivens's approach seemed somewhat draconian. She managed to turn win-win situations -- when golf tournaments are held the players, the sponsors and, most importantly, the hosting communities all win) -- into lose-lose situations. What is unforgivable is that this occurred at a time when the LPGA Tour is poised for greatness.
Let's face it, even for golf junkies, the men's tour has become a bore. This year each of the major championships had compelling stories (Perry at Augusta, Duval at Bethpage, Watson at Turnberry, and Yang at Hazeltine), but the rest of the season has largely been a blank, and the autumn season, despite the much ballyhooed Fedex Cup playoffs, remains a disaster. The average men's tour player is by and large an automaton. Truly, how many tour pros seem to enjoy their job or bother to interact with the galleries? To the general public, the only drawing card is Tiger Woods. Without him, the Tour as it currently exists would surely sink into the abyss.
The LPGA Tour is not blessed with a Tiger-like attraction. The retirement of Annika Sorenstam, in hindsight, came at the worst possible time and this season has not brought the predicted dominating performance by Lorena Ochoa. But what the men's tour lacks in personality, the ladies' tour possesses. In Creamer, Gulbis, Pressel, Kerr, Wie and countless others, the LPGA has exciting, young, marketable players. Events are extremely competitive and often are played on more interesting courses than men's events. Also, the level of play is exceptionally high. As a sports/entertainment product the LPGA Tour is poised for greatness.
However, one of the changes that the LPGA Tour must make going forward is in facilitating new players joining the Tour. Currently there are too many players who simply no longer possess the game to be competitive yet have exemptions into events. The tour must not give in to the pull of nostalgia and should make more spots available to young players on the rise. Here the LPGA must follow the lead of the PGA Tour and put strict limits on qualifying exemptions. The Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour Q-School feed the Tour new, qualified players and provide the mechanism that ensures the highest quality field week in and week out. The men may be boring to watch, but they can all play.
The Duramed Futures Tour must play a larger role in the future of the LPGA Tour. The Futures is the "minor league" ladies tour, the counterpart to the Nationwide Tour. However, the one major difference is that a Futures Tour player stands little chance of earning a living. The average purse on the Futures Tour is just over $100,000 -- the average Nationwide purse is nearly seven times that. Generally speaking, a player must finish in the top 15 to crack the 4-figure payout. The tour is billed as a "Developmental Tour," and rightly so. It is imperative that aspiring pros develop the game, the routines and the social skills that give them the best opportunity for success. However, to achieve this there has to be adequate prize money. No player should be able to make a killing without reaching the highest level, but every player should have at least the opportunity to be self-sufficient. In two weeks of observation, it is clear to me that the Futures Tour is an important part of the LPGA's future. The events are conducted with class and precision by a dedicated field staff and contested by players with big dreams and big golf games. All involved deserve just a little more support from Daytona Beach.
It appears that interim commissioner Rear Admiral Marsha Evans is making the right moves in assuaging troubled sponsors. She also appears to have a proper vision on the Tour's future, one that does not rely solely on major markets but is open to small and medium-sized markets which will increase the fanbase and position the Tour for growth even if the economy continues to lag. However, the degree of success she can achieve in mending fractured relationship in the short run remains to be seen. In the long run a close association with the PGA Tour seems a no-brainer. With improved marketing, joint media buys, mixed team events and countless other strategies both tours would benefit from an association. The PGA Tour players could learn quite a few lessons from their LPGA counterparts that could return some interest to the men's game, and the LPGA players, current and future, could have a proper stage on which to display their game.
The game of professional golf needs a little shakeup to create some non-Tiger interest. The two tours working together may be the best place to start.
in Golf
Golf
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