Kerr and Creamer Voice Serious Concerns About New Event

LPGA STARS CRISTIE KERR and Paula Creamer have serious concerns about the inaugural RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, according to Randall Mell of GolfChannel.com. Neither player has committed to play in the new event that honors the LPGA’s 13 founders.

The tournament will be played on March 18-20 in Phoenix, the first of 13 U.S. events on the 2011 LPGA schedule. A projected $500,000 of the “mock” $1.3 million purse will go to the LPGA Foundation. Except for receiving a stipend for tournament-related expenses, the ladies will play for free. The women’s “mock” winnings from the imaginary purse will count on the official money list.

Playing gratis doesn’t bother Creamer. She likes the concept and the cause. What Paula told Mell she is “having a difficult time with” is why the new title sponsor can’t donate the entire mock purse amount to the LPGA charity.

“If we were able to have $1.3 million in real money sitting there, and donate it back, I would be the first one to sign up for this event,” she said.

Creamer was also concerned about how the format looks to existing title sponsors that offer real purse money.

Kerr said the new tournament went from an idea to a 2011 event too quickly without adequate player input. “It’s turned what was an opportunity into an obligation.”

She gave LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan credit for a good concept, but was undecided about her involvement based on concerns about the format. Other uncommitted players include Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen and Morgan Pressel.

Those committed to teeing it up in Phoenix include Jiyai Shin, Ai Mazato, Juli Inkster, Brittany Lincicome, Angela Stanford and Christina Kim.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Pablo Lancaster-Jones, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

VIDEO: Commish Mike Whan Introduces LPGA Founders Cup

I CAN TELL THAT LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan is a marketing guy. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s a good thing, actually. The commish is a good pitch man, just what these challenging economic times call for—especially for the ladies tour.

In the video, Whan introduces the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, an inaugural event that pays tribute to the 13 women who founded the LPGA Tour. The tournament will be played on March 18-20 in Phoenix, the new season’s first LPGA stop in the United States. There are a total of 25 events on the 2011 schedule. A dozen are overseas.

I like the concept of the founders tournament. Whan sells it well. The part that’s stirred debate is the charity aspect of the event. The entire $1.3 million purse will go to the LPGA Foundation and the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program. In other words, the ladies will play for free. Apparently, they will receive money for travel and other tournament-related expenses, such as lodging, meals and paying their caddies.

This might be a bad idea, as some have suggested. You shouldn’t give away the product, the argument goes. It devalues the ladies game.

But, like a true marketing guy, Whan is willing to try something new, to test it, and see how it works. Whether or not it works, you always learn from doing a marketing experiment. I don’t think it will do harm to the women’s game.

The ladies need events and domestic title sponsors. This adds one to the schedule. They’ve always played for less money. At this one tournament, they’ll take it to the extreme.

−The Armchair Golfer

The Ladies Parity Golf Association (LPGA)

THERE ARE SIX LADIES vying for the Rolex Player of the Year, Vare Trophy (lowest scoring average) and the LPGA money title: Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr, Jiyai Shin, Suzanne Pettersen and Na Yeon Choi. The post-Annika, post-Lorena LPGA has a new and very crowded look at the top. That’s why I was thinking we could start calling it the Ladies Parity Golf Association. We know they’re pros, so why not use the “P” for something that fits today’s LPGA?

They’ll settle POY, the money title and other season-ending issues at the LPGA Tour Championship in two weeks at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.

(Photo: Yani Tseng / Keith Allison, Flickr)

It’s been crazy since Lorena Ochoa retired in May. The top spot in the Rolex Rankings (women’s world No. 1, not to be confused with Rolex Player of the Year) has turned over nine times among three players—Miyazato, Shin and Kerr. Shin is the current No. 1 and holds a slim .49 edge over Pettersen. Kerr is third and Tseng fourth.

The money title has come down to Shin and Choi. In addition, Choi, with a 69.77 scoring average, has a .09 lead over Kerr in the Vare Trophy race.

If I counted correctly, there have been 15 winners in 25 events thus far. Miyazato, Tseng, Kerr, Shin and Choi have multiple wins this season. The LPGA is an extremely competitive tour these days. That’s a positive.

But is parity a good thing? Mega stars like Sorenstam, Ochoa and, for the men, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, have brought more exposure to professional golf, a minor sport that struggles for attention—and always will.

Parity can be good for core fans. I’m in favor of it. For me, dominance gets boring. But does parity make the LPGA a harder sell when it comes to attracting a larger following? Mike Whan might not say so, but I think it does.

−The Armchair Golfer