The prospect of golf’s leading men and women competing in the same event is edging closer, according to the head of the LPGA Tour, who confirmed talks are taking place with his equivalents at men’s tours on both sides of the Atlantic. Mike Whan also said the concept of women professionals earning identical sums to men is not fanciful.
Whan, who has been the LPGA Tour commissioner since 2010, has been in detailed discussions with Jay Monahan of the PGA Tour and the European Tour’s Keith Pelley as golf seeks to boost interest levels with mixed events. Options including full and smaller field events, plus mixed pairs competitions, are being assessed.
“Jay and I have talked about it, trying to figure out an event where the PGA and the LPGA play together, and I have had the same conversations with Keith,” Whan said. “Not only is it just a good thing to do – unique and fun – but, if you ask our young superstars, they are excited about it. If you ask our fans, they want to see it.
“Whenever you talk to the media they say, ‘If that event happens, I’m going.’ So there is nothing wrong with a sport saying something that intrigues our fans, our athletes and our media is worth figuring out.
“We have a subcommittee alongside the PGA Tour that is working on different format ideas. The challenge for both of us is we have full schedules and there are logistical issues, but both sides are committed to something to give fans and players something exciting to lift attention.”
Brittany Lincicome, a leading member of the LPGA Tour, featured on the PGA Tour in July in a special exemption case. “I think more people talked about Brittany in one week than at any of the majors she won,” Whan said. “It creates a curiosity factor that is healthy.”
Under Whan’s guidance the LPGA Tour has proved a commercial success story. This season alone prize funds exceed $68m from 32 events, an increase of $5.8m in 2016. The Tour’s revenue has soared by 88% in the past six years. Still, men golfers enjoy a sizeable fiscal advantage; Angela Stanford’s first major win, at the Evian Championship on Sunday, earned her $577,500 (£440,000). This week at East Lake in Atlanta 30 men will compete for the FedEx Cup’s $10m bonus pool. Whan says he envisages a day when such disparity is removed.
“I absolutely can see that. I don’t know if I’ll see it in my time as commissioner but I think it will happen in a couple of phases. I think there will be a tournament that, economics aside, will say this is a statement it wants to make. Someone will want to be the first one to do that, then once one or two do it, you’ll see a few more follow.”
The tour as inherited by Whan was in stark trouble because of economic pressures. It was, as the commissioner recalls, “in a hole”. External improvements subsequently helped, of course, but so did a back-to-basics approach.
“I think we are the only sport in the world where, when the athlete signs up for a tournament, the first thing she gets is a card explaining who is the title sponsor, what are their objectives this week, what things the title sponsor hopes you say when you have a microphone in your face,” Whan said. “There are pictures of the most important cheque writers that you will see this week so that, when you see them, thank them and there is usually a mailing address. We ask players to do one handwritten thank-you card a week, just thanking the person who has made that event possible.
“They are pretty basic things. I feel pretty comfortable saying there is no more customer-centric group of athletes in the world than players on the LPGA Tour. Word quickly spread that the athletes were engaged. It wasn’t just about hanging a sign on a tee box.”
An intriguing subplot relates to the growing Asian influence on the LPGA Tour and coincided with Whan’s arrival. “I could just tell, between players and board members, staff and a load of partners it was really uncomfortable. They looked at me and said: ‘What are you going to do about this?’ – as if I was going to put a road block up. I told them two words: ‘Embrace it’.”
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LPGA
LPGA Tour makes swing towards mixed golf events and more prize money
• Talks between men’s and women’s tours in US and Europe
• Brittany Lincicome featured as exemption on PGA Tour in July
Ewan Murray
@mrewanmurray
Mon 17 Sep 2018 16.30 BST Last modified on Tue 18 Sep 2018 08.12 BST
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Angela Stanford of the United States celebrates winning the Evian Championship, her first major at the 76th time of asking, and with it a prize of £440,000.
The prospect of golf’s leading men and women competing in the same event is edging closer, according to the head of the LPGA Tour, who confirmed talks are taking place with his equivalents at men’s tours on both sides of the Atlantic. Mike Whan also said the concept of women professionals earning identical sums to men is not fanciful.
Whan, who has been the LPGA Tour commissioner since 2010, has been in detailed discussions with Jay Monahan of the PGA Tour and the European Tour’s Keith Pelley as golf seeks to boost interest levels with mixed events. Options including full and smaller field events, plus mixed pairs competitions, are being assessed.
“Jay and I have talked about it, trying to figure out an event where the PGA and the LPGA play together, and I have had the same conversations with Keith,” Whan said. “Not only is it just a good thing to do – unique and fun – but, if you ask our young superstars, they are excited about it. If you ask our fans, they want to see it.
“Whenever you talk to the media they say, ‘If that event happens, I’m going.’ So there is nothing wrong with a sport saying something that intrigues our fans, our athletes and our media is worth figuring out.
Why Brittany Lincicome believes playing on the PGA is more than a gimmick
Read more
“We have a subcommittee alongside the PGA Tour that is working on different format ideas. The challenge for both of us is we have full schedules and there are logistical issues, but both sides are committed to something to give fans and players something exciting to lift attention.”
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Brittany Lincicome, a leading member of the LPGA Tour, featured on the PGA Tour in July in a special exemption case. “I think more people talked about Brittany in one week than at any of the majors she won,” Whan said. “It creates a curiosity factor that is healthy.”
Under Whan’s guidance the LPGA Tour has proved a commercial success story. This season alone prize funds exceed $68m from 32 events, an increase of $5.8m in 2016. The Tour’s revenue has soared by 88% in the past six years. Still, men golfers enjoy a sizeable fiscal advantage; Angela Stanford’s first major win, at the Evian Championship on Sunday, earned her $577,500 (£440,000). This week at East Lake in Atlanta 30 men will compete for the FedEx Cup’s $10m bonus pool. Whan says he envisages a day when such disparity is removed.
“I absolutely can see that. I don’t know if I’ll see it in my time as commissioner but I think it will happen in a couple of phases. I think there will be a tournament that, economics aside, will say this is a statement it wants to make. Someone will want to be the first one to do that, then once one or two do it, you’ll see a few more follow.”
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The tour as inherited by Whan was in stark trouble because of economic pressures. It was, as the commissioner recalls, “in a hole”. External improvements subsequently helped, of course, but so did a back-to-basics approach.
“I think we are the only sport in the world where, when the athlete signs up for a tournament, the first thing she gets is a card explaining who is the title sponsor, what are their objectives this week, what things the title sponsor hopes you say when you have a microphone in your face,” Whan said. “There are pictures of the most important cheque writers that you will see this week so that, when you see them, thank them and there is usually a mailing address. We ask players to do one handwritten thank-you card a week, just thanking the person who has made that event possible.
“They are pretty basic things. I feel pretty comfortable saying there is no more customer-centric group of athletes in the world than players on the LPGA Tour. Word quickly spread that the athletes were engaged. It wasn’t just about hanging a sign on a tee box.”
An intriguing subplot relates to the growing Asian influence on the LPGA Tour and coincided with Whan’s arrival. “I could just tell, between players and board members, staff and a load of partners it was really uncomfortable. They looked at me and said: ‘What are you going to do about this?’ – as if I was going to put a road block up. I told them two words: ‘Embrace it’.”
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The LPGA scenario contrasts starkly with that of the Ladies European Tour, which has been beset by bad publicity because of a lack of scheduled events. Whan earlier offered essentially to take over the LET but was rebuffed. “It wasn’t because I wasn’t being selfish – I was,” he said. “I want to make sure that great European Tour players not only have a place to play but also have a place to aspire to. Without a lot of Europeans on our tour the LPGA is not as strong.
“I think the idea of a) us running it, it becoming a LPGA Tour and b) their top players having a direct pass to the LPGA ... they didn’t really love either of those things. I don’t necessarily understand those concerns but I respect them.”
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