2020 LPGA Season Odds and Ends

[Argonne69]

I finally got around to framing my In Gee memorabilia. The autographed Dumbo ears are from the 2016 International Crown. Some of you may recall that I gave her a Dumbo headcover, and in return she signed my ears. Lol. As I was following her group that day (In Gee and Amy vs. Minjee and Su), her manager Kylie gave me the photo from In Gee's 2015 U.S. Women's Open win. I received the glove as a gift from In Gee last season when I was watching her warm up on the range at the Indy WiT. 'Now I just need to find a nice place to hang it.

[18majors]

This is unfortunate!

 

[North Texas]

Golfdigest is reporting that the Ryder Cup will be postponed until 2021 and will remain in odd numbered years. Does that mean the Solheim Cup moves to even-numbered years as it was pre-9/11?

[18majors]

@Lobby
This is where the money came from?
"The 54-hole event will feature 144 players, no fans, no sponsors, and take place July 31 to Aug. 2, one week before the Marathon Classic. About 90 percent of the $1 million purse came from the generosity of canceled tournaments, which told Whan to use the money for the players."
LPGA dreamed big for Inverness event

[18majors]

Bye, Scotland! Even though UK isn't part of EU.

 

 

 

[AWinfortheAges]

I didn't know Muirfield GC was hosting two PGA events. Scratch the idea I had of them hosting an Lpga event. Unless Jack wants to be super generous and invite the ladies to play.

[18majors]

Long tine no see Nelly; what a swing!

 

[Argonne69]

Congrats to Michelle Wie and her husband Jonnie on the the birth of their baby girl last Friday.

[Lobby]

Thank you, 18Majors. That was insightful

[18majors]

This is the Maria we know

Maria Fassi shot -8 and leads by 5 after round 1

Cooper Communities NWA Classic

 

[North Texas]

Still doesn't seem quite right that a player with full LPGA status is allowed to play in an event on a developmental tour for the Symetra Tour.

[MagicClassic407]

What a shame Emma Broze also carded a 64 but was DQ'd after signing for a 63. Could have been a good duel. Tough lesson learned.

[ChronicSlicer]

like shooting fish in a barrel...i get the point keeping the tourney feeling going instead of just practicing, but not too fair to the others who need to make a living, which i assume is tough enough on the developmental level.

[North Texas]

Feel really bad for her. Got to meet Emma and talk to her for a bit when the WAPT played at my home course. Very impressive young lady.

I worked the scorer's table when the WAPT played at my course and I was surprised how often the girls had written the wrong scores on a hole for their competitors. It happened with at least 1/2 of the girls. And it wasn't unusual for it to be multiple holes. A few girls had even forgotten to record scores for some holes and had to ask the other player what they made while sitting at the scorer's table. And a few even wrote down their own scores instead of the person they were keeping score for despite having a separate area on the card to keep their own score.

[18majors]

Yuka Saso is -6 and T1 after one round at JLPGA.

【2020】アース・モンダミンカップ フルリーダーボード｜JLPGA｜日本女子プロゴルフ協会 Filipina golfer Yuka Saso debuts in Japan

 

 

[18majors]

Go Alexa!

"Pretty good little shoutout brewing in Arkansas.

Fassi is two strokes ahead of Alexa Pano after two rounds on the @WAPTGolf

. Kelly Whaley, daughter of Suzy, is four shots back.

Fassi looking for a special first pro win close to home."

Cooper Communities NWA Classic

[18majors]

"Arkansas alumna Maria Fassi (@MariaFassi0

) wins her first event as a professional in Arkansas! Fassi finishes -14 and wins by four!"

Cooper Communities NWA Classic

 

[Golf Dino]

Well ... with some of the covid19 issues happening on the PGA Tour, I'm not sure how the LPGA will handle things or even if they will. I just hope that they are not in a position that they "have to play" or the tour goes "broke" per se .... but rather if coronoavirus conditions persist, that they do not put the players in harms way (vis a vis risk) by requiring them to play (for the official dollars) simply because the LPGA cannot afford to take the remainder of the season off. Strange and interesting developments -- truly once in a century type of challenges (last seen in 1918-1920).

On another, sunnier note, and in the absence of our LPGA, a nice read about Gaby Lopez: Following in the Footsteps of a Golfing Hero

 

[Titleist_PT23]

This is like Tom Brady winning the Pop Warner MVP?

[18majors]

It's been a bit lonely here without you guys!

Hope to see this forum popping when LPGA returns in 5 weeks.

[JDee1935]

I fully get what you are saying here, BUT:

LPGA players like Fassi, Gillman, Lang etc., coupled with Symetra players, and high profile top amateurs, can only help to build up the WAPT Tour. That's badly needed in this country, especially now. So, I commend Fassi for playing and Alexa Pano is playing at high LPGA level also. She along with Lauen Hartlage [ both Curtis Cup ], Ashley Gilliam [ strong college] and Paris Hilinski another top amateur, give that tour much needed exposure . Right now, in USA, the Women's, College and Junior levels have only a small handful of strong players, the rest are International's. AJGA , does very, very, little for better players.

So, like it or not, the WAPT Tour, just may end up being important to Women's game in USA, by 2021. The LPGA, and Symetra [ will it be here in 12 months?] are on serious , serious shaky grounds financially. Management has banked on overseas sponsorships, minimalized USA Players, and results in USA sponsors leaving quickly, and many/most of their players fear financial ruin even when play resumes, as they also have no TV dollars. Whan made serious errors, and question now is he smart enough to realize it and change ideals.

So, the big message here, and hope LPGA, Symetra, WAPT, AJGA [ all about $$$] on down gets it, is they had better build up and promote USA Women's game 1000x more than they have, or there will be nothing here, soon. It's that badly on shaky ground.

[18majors]

 

I agree with you it's been good that Kristen Gillman and Maria Fassi played WAPT and won; it helped raise WAPT profile and name recognition.

But your other points are questionable:

LPGA and Symetra Tour are in financial distress and may not make it in the futureThere's a dearth of young and upcoming American female starsAmerican companies don't sponsor LPGA tournaments because LPGA isn't American centricI've been a frequent critic of Mike Whan, but I agree with him although 2020 season has been wrecked by COVID-19, 2021 will be a great year and LPGA will set a new purse record.

I follow junior golf closely and have been very impressed by Rose Zhang, Alexa Pano and Amari Avery. All three and Yealimi Noh can all join Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson to contend for Rolex Top -10.

I'd love to see another young Nancy Lopez who sets the world on fire and attracts tons of American sponsors; but I welcome stars from anywhere on earth to raise LPGA's profile. There isn't anything wrong with Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese or Korean sponsors; like us, they like to see their stars playing on the world stage.

 

 

[18majors]

I can't wait to watch 2021 US Women's Open

“In addition to moving our media rights to NBCUniversal, we are also excited by the opportunities that will come from extensive coverage on NBC’s Peacock platform,” said Davis. “We have implemented a defined strategy to build our digital offerings over the last six years and have achieved significant success. The reach and engagement of our championships will only increase through the NBCUniversal family, including their commitment to bring their “Live From” program to the U.S. Women’s Open beginning in 2021 and to cover Golf’s Longest Day linked to U.S. Open qualifying.”

New Media Rights Agreement With NBCUniversal Takes Effect

 

 

 

[18majors]

Go Danielle!

Stay active for summer with UNICEF and this LPGA star

 

[18majors]

Congratulations Yuka!

Golf: No title, but Yuka Saso still outstanding in Japan LPGA debut

[18majors]

@Stooch
Not good news, but you're right!

"Due to ongoing travel/border restrictions and government quarantine requirements as part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the LPGA Tour and Golf Canada announced today that the @cpwomensopen will not take place in 2020. The event will return to the LPGA Tour schedule in 2021."

[Newinup]

we're not out of the woods by any means on this virus... even if the entire country has improved (eg on the virus) relative to the past (and the US) in general, comparatively speaking... not surprised that it got cancelled this year...

in the meantime, I'm glad Yuka did well in her very first JLPGA event... in a way, she got "lucky" she missed the cut in Qschool in the US but made the JLPGA one... strange thing this virus... (eg some got fortunate as a result of this virus)... B still languishing in the bench waiting... and waiting...

[18majors]

@Newinup
Yuka Saso has been a great golfer for a long time; she wasn't herself last year after she lost that semifinal match at 2019 US Girls' Junior in July.
If she's in the US, Bianca has good chance to play both Ohio events. Almost all Korean players will stay home and skip the events, same goes to Europeans, Australians and other Asians.

[18majors]

This looks real; high probability this tournament will happen.

My concern is low participation from overseas players; I know most Korean players won't attend.

Patron Protocols - Marathon Classic Presented by Dana

[JDee1935]

Sir, I hope for everyone's sake that you are correct, but disagree respectively due to simple economics and conversations I've had w/multiple players. So, I do not believe the semi-rosie picture they paint to the public.

The LPGA, bases all their success [ or failure ] solely on sponsor and advertising $$$. They lose money on TV , which is horrible agreement. How, can sponsors pay to hold LPGA tournament, after many layoffs due to pandemic??? Explain that to shareholders. Without signifigant attendance, LPGA tournaments finish deep in the red. SO, the only way they can keep tournaments [ as many have told me, players are aware], is to severely decrease purses, then hope. For the next 2 years, you'll see LPGA purses drop deeply to level of Symetra, maybe below. Players will seek [ like a Noh] more opportunities on KLPGA and JLPGA, which heavily promote their tours on national players, generating much more revenue.

As an example, PGA Tour, does not gain success on hard core golf enthusists like yourself, but large support on MANY non golf people who attend. A party, entertainment atmosphere that LPGA fails to offer. THAT, is the fault of LPGA for the way the tour is presented to USA public. Honestly, who would a non golfer come to watch other than Lexi?? None, because LPGA has not promoted the USA players like PGA does. And now, they have big issues.

So, sure, players above will be good, really good. But, not nearly enough need 30-40 strong Americans who with correct marketing and promotion draw sponsors dollars domestically. USA people, do not care about what goes on in China, nor do non golf people. 5 years from now, can Noh, Pano , Zhang, Avery [ needs college to mature] draw crowds?? Not the way LPGA is run now. And, they need many more to join them.