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Major sponsor tears into LPGA leadership over dinner fiasco

Published

1 year ago

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Having had a record-breaking year for prize money, the 2023 LPGA schedule sees the threshold broken yet again, with players competing for the best part of $100 million.

With each tournament carrying a minimum purse of $1.5 million, and the five majors accounting for almost $38 million, the tour seems in as good a place as it has ever been.

It may well be that, similar to the PGA Tour, the hefty rise in prize-money results from the unquestionable threat of the LIV Tour and the temptation of the lucrative funds available, even to those well-beaten week-to-week.

Whatever the cause, LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan enthusiastically announced the news earlier this week:

“Our athletes are playing for more total prize money than any time in history, and we have over 500 hours of broadcast television. All those things combine to make the LPGA the leading women’s professional sports property in the world.”

She continued, “The LPGA Tour has never had better or more committed partners who see the commercial value in investing in women’s sports and who understand how their partnerships elevate women and girls on and off the golf course.”

That partnership must be a two-way streak, though, and Samaan is being called to task almost immediately, on this occasion by one of the LPGA’s most trusted sponsor – the CME Group – funder of this week’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship and the season-long Race to CME Globe.

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols filed a report on Saturday, clearly stating that CME chief, Terry Duffy, was unhappy with the way the tour conducted itself at the pre-championship dinner.

CME are the largest backer of events on the LPGA and the flamboyant dinner should have been a chance for politicians and business moguls to honor the select number of players invited to the shindig.

However, according to Nichols, “when Duffy asked for the houselights to be turned on so that he could applaud the players in the room, the only people standing were those serving the tables.”

“Not a single player showed up,” she confirmed.

Having invested heavily into the tour for 11 years, Duffy rightly felt this was a snub.

“It’s an embarrassment to a company of my size and an embarrassment to me personally.”

And he feels Samaan has a lot to answer for, just hours after announcing the lucrative schedule.

“I am exceptionally disappointed with the leadership of the LPGA. They better get their act together because they’re going to lose people like me over stuff like this.”

When asked by Golfweek to respond to the accusation, Samaan replied,

“There hasn’t been any greater supporter of the LPGA than CME Group and Terry Duffy”

“There was clearly a disconnect,” she continued. “And it’s my responsibility to make sure that this doesn’t happen. So on this particular issue, I’m taking full responsibility as a leader of the organization to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Despite being the major part of the 2023 fund, Duffy is not pretending the money comes easy.

“I’m concerned about the future of the tour,” he said, “because the leadership needs to work with their players to make sure that everybody has a clear understanding of how we grow the game together, along with sponsors and others. There’s no one person, no two people who can grow it alone.”

“You need everybody. They say it takes a village, and I think their village is getting a little fractured.” 

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19th Hole

Phil Mickelson reveals he won’t be pursuing broadcasting career when he retires from golf

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10 hours ago

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May 8, 2024

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On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.

“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”

Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.

“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”

While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.

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PGA Tour pro sounds off on ‘unfair’ PGA Championship invites

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10 hours ago

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May 8, 2024

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This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.

PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.

“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”

“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”

“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”

Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.

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Report: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’

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1 day ago

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May 7, 2024

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On Tuesday, the full field for the PGA Championship at Valhalla was released. In some surprising news, a handful of LIV players were granted exemptions including Dean Burmester, Patrick Reed, Lucas Herbert and Adrian Meronk.

The most surprising omission was Louis Oosthuizen. The South African has been one of the most consistent players on LIV this season, and also won two DP World Tour events in the fall.

According to the AP’s Doug Ferguson, Oosthuizen was actually given an invitation, but declined due to “personal commitments”.

In total, there will be 16 LIV golfers teeing it up next week at Valhalla.

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