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LPGA to trim events from 2009 schedule
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens may have hobbled into the interview room to face the media Nov. 19, but her voice didn’t waver. If there’s one thing the commish never lacks, it’s confidence.
“No other sport, no other sport delivers what we deliver at our events, on TV, online and through other mediums,” said Bivens, who is on crutches recovering from foot surgery.
The LPGA’s 2009 schedule offers 31 official events, down three from this year. Official money also is down a little more than $5 million. That’s the bottom line, though none of it really comes as a surprise.
Some tidbits from Bivens’ annual State of the Tour address, and the ADT Championship’s grand finale:
• Out for 2009: Ginn Tribute, SemGroup Championship and Fields Open. The LPGA intended for ADT to go dark in ’09 as they moved the $1 million event to the beginning of the year in 2010. What they didn’t anticipate was losing ADT as a sponsor altogether. Bivens said the event will kick off the 2010 season under the same format. (If they can find a new sponsor.)
As for that little issue of someone starting the year off with $1 million, Bivens isn’t concerned.
“It effects the money list as much as having it at the end of the year,” she said. “Somebody wins a million dollars. And frankly, I hope five to 10 years from now somebody is standing (in front of) you talking about nine or 10 $1 million events, and that this event would have a (first-place prize) of $2 million.”
Mathematically speaking, Bivens is correct. But when you consider that as of this week, only 13 players have crossed the $1 million mark, it’s easy to see how such a quirky event could give one player a distinct advantage for the first half of the season.
“Whoever ends up winning the first event is 99.9 percent guaranteed to be in the top 10 on the money list,” said Christina Kim. “They could play that one event and be like, peace for the entire year, go to Aruba or something.”
• There are a few holes on the 2009 schedule. Ginn Open’s purse is TBD, a slight concern given that it was the third-highest purse in 2008 at $2.6 million. The sites for Samsung World Championship, China LPGA, Stanford Financial Tour Championship and the Phoenix LPGA International also were listed as TBD. China LPGA and Kapalua LPGA are still looking for a title sponsor.
• Annika Sorenstam played in her last LPGA pro-am round on U.S. soil and followed that with her last pre-tournament press conference. She was peppy, personal and witty during what could be her last time in the ADT interview room.
Since Sorenstam announced she’d be stepping away from the game in May at the Sybase Classic, it has been an emotional farewell tour.
“Normally I’m this cold Swede going down the fairway,” she cracked.
When asked about her upcoming business endeavors, Sorenstam didn’t sugarcoat things: “I don’t think I could’ve timed it any worse.”
• Despite gloom and doom economics, there were a few things on the rise. CN raised its sponsorship for the Canadian Women’s Open to $2,750,000, an increase of $500,000. The tour also generated more than $2 million for the Tournament Owners Association, a 40 percent increase over last year. Bivens credited the jump to a new television revenue share agreement, international rights contracts as well as marketing and sales programs.
• In 2009, nine tournaments were won via playoffs and 10 were decided by one stroke. Perhaps the most nail-biting finish, however, was the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year race. Despite winning a major championship, Yani Tseng won’t have it locked up until she completes Friday’s round, finishing T-17 at worst. Even if Na Yeon Choi wins the ADT Championship, she can’t beat Tseng.
There’s a reception Thursday evening at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Club honoring first-time winners, the POY and ROY. Both rookies will be on hand as LPGA officials play up the race, but it’s more or less over.
Paula Creamer still has a chance to upset Ochoa in the money title race should she win the whole thing. Ochoa, however, is a lock for her third consecutive POY.
• Of the 31 events in 2009, 13 are outside the U.S. mainland. I’m tired just thinking about it.
• Bivens addressed the player body for the first time since the English policy debacle in Hawaii last month. At the ADT, she faced a media room so packed it was standing room only. When asked for a progress report, Bivens said they’ve had offers from a number of companies looking to lend their expertise in developing a program for international players, including pro bono work.
“We’re actually going to make this more extensive than we’d ever intended to do in the very first place,” Bivens said. “And our goal is to come out of this a year to 18 months from now and have a model program.”
Originally, the LPGA planned to implement its new policy at the start of 2009.
• A few gems from The Donald, who, despite all odds, recently sold a house in Palm Beach:
– On losing the tournament: “We were called recently by a number of tours and they all want to be (at Trump International), so that’s the good news. ... It’s sad that they weren’t able to work it out, but that’s the way life goes.”
– On the sports economy: “This is the worst period of time since the 1929 depression. ... Owning a franchise for the first time in my business career is, I think, going to be a bad thing.”
• For players who fail to qualify for the U.S. Open and British Open, they might want to consider a part-time job during their seven-week break. Down the road, Bivens pointed to a challenger series to fill those gaps. Challenger events are made up of bottom-tier LPGA players, top Duramed Futures Tour players and all-time money leaders (seniors) to be held opposite limited-field LPGA events.
Futures Tour CEO Zayra F. Calderon said she’d be happy to land even one of those events in 2009.
Posted: 11/19/2008
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