Their interview touches on a number of LPGA Tour specific issues. Most interesting was Jason's question about the future of the Tour:
Jason: Is the future of the tour that of a more global tour (Japan, Korea, Mexico)?
Annika: Yes, we should be more global. Have more tournaments around the world. That is where the demand is, companies are more interested in Europe and Asia.
After thinking about it for sometime, here is a plan for the future success of the LPGA Tour as an international tour.
Here's the situation (via: Golfweek)
Of this year’s 16 scheduled U.S. tournaments (excluding majors), 13 – at best – will return for the 2010 schedule. Three events already are defunct: Turtle Bay (formerly SBS Open), Kapalua LPGA Classic and LPGA Corning Classic.As has been illustrated over the past few weeks throughout the golf media, the LPGA Tour is facing a dire financial situation as corporate affiliations are disappearing and general interest in the Tour is dwindling.
At least seven of these events have title-sponsorship contracts expiring this year. Among this group, tournament owners of the Sybase Classic, P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship and Navistar LPGA Classic are optimistic about continuing in 2010.
At least four are under contract through at least 2010: Safeway Classic, CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge (name changed following acquisition of Longs Drugs), Bell Micro LPGA Classic and Tour Championship.
The LPGA is launching a new event in Southern California next year with J Golf, the tour’s Korean cable TV partner. In addition, LPGA State Farm Classic has committed to return.
On the international front, the tour announced July 21 the creation of another tournament in Mexico beginning in 2010: the Acapulco LPGA Classic, to be held next spring at Tres Vidas Golf Club. Two of the LPGA’s three existing events in Mexico are up for renewal this year: MasterCard Classic and Corona Championship. MasterCard’s status is uncertain; Corona hasn’t officially committed, but event organizers have expressed confidence the event will continue. The third event, Lorena Ochoa Invitational, is under contract through 2012.
In addition, the Evian Masters’ contract expires in 2009, but a tournament official said "all the lights are green for a renewal." Tour officials also said Honda LPGA Thailand and CN Canadian Women’s Open are part of the 2010 schedule.
Of the 29 Tournaments listed on the 2009 LPGA Tour Schedule, foreign title sponsors of note:
SBS - Korea based
Honda - Japan based
HSBC - England based
Corona - Mexico based
Societe Generale - France based
RICOH - Japan based
CN - Canada based
Samsung - Korea based
Hana Bank -Korea based
Mizuno - Japan based
Banamex - Mexico
Rolex - Switzerland based
American based: Nextel, Mirassou Winery, Kraft Nabisco, Michelob, Sybase/ShopRite, Corning, State Farm, McDonalds/Coca-Cola, Wegmans, Kroger, US Open (no title sponsor), Solheim Cup (no title sponsor), Safeway/Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Navistar/Monaco RV, Wendy's.
The current Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings (11/09/09):
Of the top-30:
Korean: 9
American: 7
European: 6
Japanese: 5
Australian: 2
With the evident international interest and international presence on the LPGA Tour, there is an obvious opportunity for the LPGA Tour to exploit their international advantage.
While there is an international interest in women's golf, it's important to note that the purse sizes on the Ladies European Tour approximately average €300,000 ($500,000) while every LPGA Tour purse was over $1 million, with many over $2 million.
My proposal would be to follow a men's European Tour model where there is no clear base-country for the Tour. Unlike the European Tour, obviously, an international LPGA Tour would have a multi-contintent schedule.
The LPGA Tour schedule would be comprised of the most successful American tournaments, the title-sponsored events with foreign corporations would be moved to those respective countries (something those corporations would hardly have an issue with), and the LPGA schedule would then be joined with the most successful tournaments from the Ladies European Tour and the Ladies Asian Golf Tour (the 2010 schedule has four events: China, Indonesia, India, and Thailand).
Obviously, this would create a traveling burden on the players, but I believe that increased incomes via tournament purses and international corporate affiliations would be make up for it.
The mission statement for the LPGA Tour reads: "To inspire, empower, education and entertain by showcasing the best professionals in the world -- The members of the LPGA. To be a leader in the world of sports and to promote economic empowerment for our members. We will also serve as role models on and off the course."
While an international tour would make it more difficult for American players to have an arena to compete, it's always been my understanding that professional sports are meant to provide an arena for, simply put, the best to compete. While there is an obvious xenophobia about the LPGA Tour, it is a misguided notion to believe that its purpose is to house American female golfers.
The LPGA needs to go to a more stringent international schedule or they will continue to face economic instability. Particularly, as it seems that many American corporations are going to cut down on wasteful spending (I'm not labeling LPGA Tour affiliations as wasteful, but rather implying that there are, perhaps, better uses of that money) it seems unlikely that corporations will be adamant about maintaining their title sponsorships.
Jason also asked Annika if the LPGA Tour needs another dominant figure (as she was) or if it would be better served by having a core-group of 20 players who compete well with each other week in week out. Annika's response was noncommital, but she did point out that during her time some criticized the tour and labeled it as boring because she was winning all of the time.
On a side note, I interviewed Jason Sobel last week for a project on the future of golf journalism and golf media. Obviously, he was incredibly well informed, but, most importantly, he was kind and generous to offer me so much time late in the evening -- our conversation lasted until after midnight.
I encourage my readers to follow him (at his ESPN blog) and the work that he does; not only is he setting the quo for the future of online golf media (which, frankly, is the future of golf journalism), but today he is doing great work and providing great insight.
Photo(s): LPGA Tour
1 comment:
Very interesting and informative article. The new LPGA Commissioner, Mike Whan, certainly has a daunting task to make a 2010 schedule and beyond. . . Ultimately, it would be best for competitive golf if the various Womens' Professional groups in Europe, Asia and the U.S. can create a worldwide Tour. There would be grousing from the rank and file players but the top professionals would welcome the competition and the opportunity to make some serious money - including endorsements.
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