New LPGA Commissioner

[golfortennis]

Didn't see a thread.  Apparently the LPGA has hired a new commissioner.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/lpga-tour-names-mollie-marcoux-samaan-new-commissioner

 

Not sure what I think about hiring a collegiate athletic director, but I read the article, and looks like prior to Princeton she worked at some decent jobs that gives her some concepts of the real world.  Wonder if she would be the type that would do some on course commentary like Whan did.  

 

 

 

[Pepperturbo]

Yep.  I can't help but wonder how she will fair coming from positions where revenue streams were more stable and consistent.  How's she going to handle sponsor turn-over and resistance.  And it doesn't surprise me that Whan is moving to the USGA later this year. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[gvogel]

Apparently she grew up idolizing Dotty Pepper from their time playing amateur golf in New York State.  She is also a multiple club champion on a track out on Long Island.  The same skills that she used to recruit student athletes and solicit donor funds at Princeton should be helpful at the LPGA.

[golfortennis]

2 hours ago, gvogel said:

Apparently she grew up idolizing Dotty Pepper from their time playing amateur golf in New York State.  She is also a multiple club champion on a track out on Long Island.  The same skills that she used to recruit student athletes and solicit donor funds at Princeton should be helpful at the LPGA.

 

Very different dynamic.  Athletes at Princeton are there for the school first.  And donors a lot of times are alumni who really weren't going to donate somewhere else.  She was given the ball on the other team's 10 yard line there in those areas.  She's on her own ten here. 

[DavePelz4]

She's taking over at a time when the LPGA couldn't be in a better position.  The question becomes can she take it to another level in terms of the size of purses, and we're not talking Gucci here.

[ThinkingPlus]

1 hour ago, DavePelz4 said:

She's taking over at a time when the LPGA couldn't be in a better position.  The question becomes can she take it to another level in terms of the size of purses, and we're not talking Gucci here.

Oh, but we are.  What do you think the ladies are buying with their winnings? LOL! Maybe Versace, too.

[golfortennis]

2 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

She's taking over at a time when the LPGA couldn't be in a better position.  The question becomes can she take it to another level in terms of the size of purses, and we're not talking Gucci here.

 

Couldn't be in a better position, or couldn't be in a better position considering where they were before Whan showed up?  He did a great job, no question, but he had to devote a lot of energy undoing rather than building.

[DavePelz4]

41 minutes ago, ThinkingPlus said:

Oh, but we are.  What do you think the ladies are buying with their winnings? LOL! Maybe Versace, too.

 

TP are you a Gucci Girl?  Does Gucci make golf bags?

[Golf Dino]

55 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

TP are you a Gucci Girl?  Does Gucci make golf bags?

 

I'm sure they do.  I saw a Louis Vuiton golf bag ... but I'm sure their pool of potential clientele is somewhat limited. 😂

[ThinkingPlus]

50 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

TP are you a Gucci Girl?  Does Gucci make golf bags?

No (more of a Louis Vuitton fan, but settle for Brahmin) and probably.

[DanoCanuck]

8 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

She's taking over at a time when the LPGA couldn't be in a better position.  The question becomes can she take it to another level in terms of the size of purses, and we're not talking Gucci here.

How is the LPGA Tour "couldn't be in a better position"? Is it making fists full of money? Sponsors beating at the door to lend their names to golfers and events? I'm honestly not sure how that tour survives. Even before the pandemic it's a rarity to see a bunch of fans except the majors.
 

I think the ladies golf is semi-decent but I don't think they play on enough difficult courses. In some tourneys they play on setups like resort courses. I had a friend tell me how much better the ladies hit it and I LOL'ed. Of course they hit it great when short target golf is the goal.  
 

I really hope a venue like Augusta finds a way to host an LPGA major. They've done a great job with the amateur but I don't understand why Ridley says they can't host an LPGA event. He never expanded on his answer but ANGC could really boost the ladies game by hosting a professional event. IMHO the ladies tour needs a boost in stature. Hopefully the new commish can pull some strings and get some better coverage for marquee events. Right now is pretty ho-hum. 

[Titleist_PT23]

6 hours ago, DanoCanuck said:

I think the ladies golf is semi-decent but I don't think they play on enough difficult courses. In some tourneys they play on setups like resort courses. I had a friend tell me how much better the ladies hit it and I LOL'ed. Of course they hit it great when short target golf is the goal.  

KPMG has some good ones and hard to beat Olympic/Pebble Beach for the USWO.  Of course, these events are two weeks out of the year.

 

I do agree many courses are "not that hard."  Many are typical 6,500 / par rated / 135-140 slope with accessible greens.  But saying they don't hit it great seems a bit too much?  They shred these courses to pieces.  Again, I don't think the 7,200 - 7,500 yard courses are that hard for the men when the entire tour is around 300 off the tee these days.  And forced carries from 200 yards?  Not too hard when you are hitting a 6 iron (it's not like some weekend hack with his 5 wood).

[North Texas]

8 hours ago, DanoCanuck said:

How is the LPGA Tour "couldn't be in a better position"? Is it making fists full of money? Sponsors beating at the door to lend their names to golfers and events? I'm honestly not sure how that tour survives. Even before the pandemic it's a rarity to see a bunch of fans except the majors.
 

I think the ladies golf is semi-decent but I don't think they play on enough difficult courses. In some tourneys they play on setups like resort courses. I had a friend tell me how much better the ladies hit it and I LOL'ed. Of course they hit it great when short target golf is the goal.  
 

I really hope a venue like Augusta finds a way to host an LPGA major. They've done a great job with the amateur but I don't understand why Ridley says they can't host an LPGA event. He never expanded on his answer but ANGC could really boost the ladies game by hosting a professional event. IMHO the ladies tour needs a boost in stature. Hopefully the new commish can pull some strings and get some better coverage for marquee events. Right now is pretty ho-hum. 

 

Ladies golf is semi-decent. Seriously?

[North Texas]

Got to love it.

 

Women playing good means the course is too short or too easy.

Men playing good means they are really good.

 

Yet, for the most part, the women play a longer course than the men do. 

[DavePelz4]

9 hours ago, DanoCanuck said:

How is the LPGA Tour "couldn't be in a better position"? Is it making fists full of money? Sponsors beating at the door to lend their names to golfers and events? I'm honestly not sure how that tour survives. Even before the pandemic it's a rarity to see a bunch of fans except the majors.
 

I think the ladies golf is semi-decent but I don't think they play on enough difficult courses. In some tourneys they play on setups like resort courses. I had a friend tell me how much better the ladies hit it and I LOL'ed. Of course they hit it great when short target golf is the goal.  
 

I really hope a venue like Augusta finds a way to host an LPGA major. They've done a great job with the amateur but I don't understand why Ridley says they can't host an LPGA event. He never expanded on his answer but ANGC could really boost the ladies game by hosting a professional event. IMHO the ladies tour needs a boost in stature. Hopefully the new commish can pull some strings and get some better coverage for marquee events. Right now is pretty ho-hum. 

 

Not sure how closely you follow the LPGA but in the Bivens days, sponsors were bailing left and right and the LPGA was reduced to about 25 tournaments and around $40M in total purses.  Now there are about 35 events and $80M im prize money. The tour is generating more revenue from international TV rights than ever before, with more hours of content being produced than ever. Whan did make one huge mistake in the new TV deal signed in 2020, and that was letting the PGA take close to 90% of the US TV revenue.  How and why that happened I'm not sure.

 

The LPGA needs to be looked at as a global tour as that's what it is.  Look at the sponsors and you'll see a high percentage of international companies.  The LPGA is now into the whole sports betting thing which is yet another new source of revenue.  To not appreciate the position the LPGA is in relative to where it was 5 years ago is a bit short sighted.

[Hawkeye77]

Whan spent a lot of time rebuilding/repairing relationships and building new ones, and indeed left the ship actually sailing instead of listing. LPGA will always have its unique challenges - supposedly the new captain is also strong on relationship building and experienced in that regard. 
 

[Golf Dino]

2 hours ago, North Texas said:

Got to love it.

 

Women playing good means the course is too short or too easy.

Men playing good means they are really good.

 

Yet, for the most part, the women play a longer course than the men do. 

 

Maybe the LPGA should adopt the old slogan of "These Gals are Good"  ... or some variation of the old PGA Tour's.   

[DanoCanuck]

I didn't mean to imply the women didn't hit it well just that I disagreed with my friend in the women hit it "better". They hit it great but still, outside of a few events, they are not playing very challenging courses. 
 

I'm glad the LPGA Tour is doing well. I played in a pro-am at an LPGA event mid 2000's and it was pretty ho-hum. The ladies in my group couldn't even converse with us and I heard the same from friends in other groups. 
 

The current group of ladies contains some engaging personalities that don't seem to get promoted as much as the men. They really need some household names to bolster the tours image along with some marquee courses outside of the majors. Cheers...

[Golf Dino]

11 hours ago, DanoCanuck said:

" Even before the pandemic it's a rarity to see a bunch of fans except the majors."
 

 

C'mon that is far too sweeping of a generalization.  As a "canuck" and I presume, rightly or wrongly, that you're from British Columbia, then you ought to know that the CP Canadian Women's Open is always well attended.  The turnouts at Vancouver Golf Club have been terrific when Lydia won, they have been even bigger when Brooke came on tour ... the Asian events in Korea and other places have some good turnouts as does some of the events in the United States. 

 

Edited May 27, 2021 by Golf Dino

[North Texas]

8 minutes ago, DanoCanuck said:

I didn't mean to imply the women didn't hit it well just that I disagreed with my friend in the women hit it "better". They hit it great but still, outside of a few events, they are not playing very challenging courses. 
 

I'm glad the LPGA Tour is doing well. I played in a pro-am at an LPGA event mid 2000's and it was pretty ho-hum. The ladies in my group couldn't even converse with us and I heard the same from friends in other groups. 
 

The current group of ladies contains some engaging personalities that don't seem to get promoted as much as the men. They really need some household names to bolster the tours image along with some marquee courses outside of the majors. Cheers...

 

Was your friend trying to say that the women hit it "better" than the men? And, outside of a few events, do the men really play challenging courses?

 

Your pro-am story is purely anecdotal. My son played in the Byron Nelson Pro-Am on the men's tour a few weeks ago and had a similar experience with the pro he played with. The pro barely conversed with them even though he was perfectly capable. 

[DanoCanuck]

3 minutes ago, Golf Dino said:

 

C'mon that is far too sweeping of a generalization.  As a "canuck" and I presume, rightly or wrongly, that you're from British Columbia, then you ought to know that the CP Canadian Women's Open is always well attended.  The turnouts at Vancouver Golf Club have been terrific when Lydia won, they have been even bigger when Brooke came on tour ... the Asian events in Korea and other places have some good turnouts as does some of the events in the United States. 

 

You're correct although Vancouver isn't my primary residence anymore. 
 

The galleries at VGC are really good no doubt, it's a nice course for the fans which helps along with a pretty robust golf community in Vancouver. I like the LPGA Tour and watch it often enough. Would love to see Brooke, Lydia and Lexi really promoted. Of course I'm partial to Brooke and there's also some really engaging young ones coming up too. Kupcho has a lot of potential to be a face of the tour. 

[95124hacker]

These ladies deserve a chance to make a good living (paycheck). The LPGA has global presence. I’ve been to USWO at Cordevalle, & a couple of Mediheal’s at Lake Merced. There are true fans that support them wholeheartedly, not the casual fans you get at the PGA tournaments (I’ve been to my share of those too). Hope the new commish can improve what is a good product & find ways to increase revenue.

[18majors]

1 minute ago, 95124hacker said:

Hope the new commish can improve what is a good product & find ways to increase revenue.

 

Marcoux Samaan will have good chances immediately.

 

USGA plans to bring in a presenting sponsor for US Women's Open at a price of $7.0-$10.0 millions; they plan to use part of that money to eventually have equal prizes for men and women.

 

ANA Inspiration has the lowest purse for Majors at $3.1 millions compared to other Majors at $4.5 millions or higher.  Marcoux Samaan is scheduled to bring in a new sponsor in 2022; she should be able to increase the purse substantially if she's any good.

[KBong]

On 5/27/2021 at 9:16 AM, Golf Dino said:

 

C'mon that is far too sweeping of a generalization.  As a "canuck" and I presume, rightly or wrongly, that you're from British Columbia, then you ought to know that the CP Canadian Women's Open is always well attended.  The turnouts at Vancouver Golf Club have been terrific when Lydia won, they have been even bigger when Brooke came on tour ... the Asian events in Korea and other places have some good turnouts as does some of the events in the United States. 

 

I thought the galleries were maybe bigger at the 2012 CWO than the RBC CO in 2011.

I had to watch Lydia on the 72nd hole from 150 yards out from the green because the gallery was too large around the green.

 

Shockingly, the galleries at the 2015 WO were much smaller than in 2012.....onsidering Brooke had just won the week before in Portland.

I was there all week in both 2012 and 2015.

[Titleist_PT23]

6 hours ago, 95124hacker said:

These ladies deserve a chance to make a good living (paycheck). 

Why don't we just give more money to every person that has a job of any kind?  Don't worry about productivity or revenue generation at all.  Everyone "deserves more!!!!"

 

One thing you can do is pay more at the gate when you buy a ticket.  I know it says $X, just pay 10X.  Same for your cable bill.  Send them more money and ask them to pass along to LPGA.

[95124hacker]

26 minutes ago, agolf1 said:

Why don't we just give more money to every person that has a job of any kind?  Don't worry about productivity or revenue generation at all.  Everyone "deserves more!!!!"

 

One thing you can do is pay more at the gate when you buy a ticket.  I know it says $X, just pay 10X.  Same for your cable bill.  Send them more money and ask them to pass along to LPGA.

You’re ridiculous 

 

I go to their tournaments whenever they come to town, including next weekend at Olympic Club. I spend my share of money supporting them. Don’t need you to tell me otherwise 

Edited May 31, 2021 by 95124hacker

[Titleist_PT23]

21 minutes ago, 95124hacker said:

You’re ridiculous 

 

I go to their tournaments whenever they come to town, including next weekend at Olympic Club. I spend my share of money supporting them. Don’t need you to tell me otherwise 

Your original statement was wrong.  There is nothing that grants these players a "right" or a "chance" to make a good living.  If their revenue is more than expenses, they do well.  If revenue is less than expenses, they should go out of business (or find something else to do).  Really no different than the millions of other people working and paying bills each day.  But let me guess, you probably want everyone to have a free college education because they deserve it and it pays for itself (and no, it doesn't even come close to paying for itself).

 

The other option is to redistribute the purses so the winner makes $144 more than the last place finisher.  Ever think about this or you just believe there's an infinite amount of money everywhere?

 

It's good that you go to their tournaments.  So do I.  If you think they should earn more, why don't you pay more at the gate?  Or make a donation to the LPGA?  It's nice to give out other peoples' money, especially when you want to pay the same price as everyone else.

[Tasals]

22 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

Marcoux Samaan will have good chances immediately.

 

USGA plans to bring in a presenting sponsor for US Women's Open at a price of $7.0-$10.0 millions; they plan to use part of that money to eventually have equal prizes for men and women.

 

ANA Inspiration has the lowest purse for Majors at $3.1 millions compared to other Majors at $4.5 millions or higher.  Marcoux Samaan is scheduled to bring in a new sponsor in 2022; she should be able to increase the purse substantially if she's any good.

 

Crazy thing about the USGA bringing in a sponsor, is that it is just about the break even for the US Womens Open which is losing nearly 10.5 million dollars a year according to the USGA. https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2020/03/03/usga-reveals-us-womens-open-loses-millions-annually/

 

Im surprised they havent brought in a title sponsor sooner.

 

[18majors]

6 minutes ago, Tasals said:

 

Crazy thing about the USGA bringing in a sponsor, is that it is just about the break even for the US Womens Open which is losing nearly 10.5 million dollars a year according to the USGA. https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2020/03/03/usga-reveals-us-womens-open-loses-millions-annually/

 

Im surprised they havent brought in a title sponsor sooner.

 

 

 

USGA won't bring in a title sponsor; the plan is to bring in a presenting sponsor.

 

It's well known USGA loses more than $10.0 million a year running USWO, but the purpose of bringing in a sponsor isn't simply to break even.  It's also to enhance the purse and to deliver all other things that makes the tournament better.

[DavePelz4]

Part of the challenge with the USGA is that it needs to think and operate like a business. Spending more than you take in is a recipe for failure.  You can have loss leaders in some areas of the business, and do some charitable spending, but overall you need to take in more than you spend. Business 101.

 

But, here's a couple of things from the USGA's 2020 annual report that might make you go hmmm.  As a non-profit, they need to report their financials and have them audited as well.  You might be shocked to learn that the USGA has $884,000,000 in assets (yes $885 MILLION), up from basically $509,000,000 in 2019.  That increase is directly related the cancellation of the Fox TV contract, which required an advance termination payout of $323,000,000. but absent that, they're still sitting on a HALF BILLION in assets. As a subset of that, over $750M is in INVESTMENTS. As another aside, last year the USGA saw an increase on the investments of $32M and they received about $10M in dividends and interest. Not all bad.

 

As mentioned, the USGA is not only a non-profit but apparently a non-profit that pays really well. There are 13 employees paid over $300K/year (that's just salary) and more than half of those make over $500K/year. Of the 13 highly compensated individuals, only 2 are females. Although non-profits don't have a traditional P&L, you can look at what revenue less expenses yields to get a high level look at how they're doing financially. Eliminating the non-recurring $323M Fox termination payment, in a down year of revenue from the lack of championship revenue, the USGA took in $170M and spent $176M. Not a bad year at all considering the pandemic. We all should have done so well.

 

To net it out, if the USGA wanted to deliver equality in terms of the purse, the answer is quite easily, yes. They have the cash and investments to support it if they chose, regardless of the addition of a presenting sponsor, and it's not going to materially impact any or their financials.  Adding a presenting sponsor would only decrease the actual amount the USGA would need to add to the purse.