“What happened over the course of the last 10 days at the L.P.G.A. is cyclical"
That's our Brand Lady! But before we get to her comments exclusive to the New York Times' William Rhoden, let's consider who she picked to talk to. Wisely I might add in admiration, as Rhoden has proven to have no clue about golf (I say that someone who enjoys his baseball and basketball writing).
You may recall it was Rhoden who wrote about Trevor Immelman's only case of nerves coming down the stretch at Augusta to be his 17th hole tee shot landing in the fairway bunker. Immelman had hit it in the water on the hole before and of course there is no fairway bunker on the 17th.
Anyway, today he lands what appears to be the only interview with Carolyn Bivens and he weaves quite the tale of woe. Before we get to that though, I did notice that in listing her screw-ups in the print edition, he referred to "Twittering during matches." Someone wisely changed the online edition to "competitions." Rhoden also refers to Bivens as "a consummate businesswoman and dealmaker" before revealing that she's leaving the tour in shambles.
But let's get to the good stuff.
Although Bivens’s resignation may provide short-term satisfaction, the long-term effect could force the L.P.G.A. into chaos at the worst possible time.
The next commissioner will inherit an organization that competes in a catastrophic economy, an organization that has lost sponsors, had purses reduced and had one of its greatest stars, Annika Sorenstam, retire. The L.P.G.A. also announced that Sorenstam, who won 10 major tournaments, would be an adviser to its board of directors.
The forced resignation of the organization’s first female commissioner is a pronouncement about the perils of competing for dollars in a male-dominated sports landscape and the pitfall of leading an organization in which players have too much control over areas where they have limited expertise.
Oh really? Did the players upset longtime sponsors and negotiate with them in ways that made them want to close up shop?
The Brand Lady says so. And this is just cyclical!
"What happened over the course of the last 10 days at the L.P.G.A. is cyclical,” Bivens said. “We have a governance issue. How we are run and the constitution of the L.P.G.A. is a problem, not just for me, not just for the former commissioners, but for current and former board members.
“Being an active player and trying to govern an organization don’t go together,” she said. “They are absolutely counterintuitive. They fight each other.”
It is amazing how common sense stuff like wanting to play as much as possible gets in the way of vision.
For a different take, Bill Fields gets to the point in this week's Golf World after pointing out that Deane Beman wasn't exactly loved either:
A commissioner doesn't have to be loved, but he or she must be respected. Beman's shrewd business mind and his often brusque style co-existed with a golf soul that Bivens never showed she possesses. As Beman -- often with opposition, even from his stars -- went about modernizing and upgrading his tour the way Bivens tried to transform the LPGA, his grounding in the game was hugely important.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 09:24 AM
Reader Comments (7)
No, but let’s not forget the players themselves are at the crux of this issue. I’m not arguing that Bivens has no blame, but the root of the problem is that the ladies’ tour just isn’t that entertaining. American men are not tuning in, and women never will.
The “marquee” players (Wie, Gulbis, Creamer, etc…) aren’t producing, and the leader boards are littered with Asian names. No one can tell them apart.
Bottom line - the product ain't that good. If the players want to play more and make more money, they need to look at themselves first.
Play less, make more.
Tiger
I have no idea what this is intended to mean but if I had to hazard a guess, we're going through the spin cycle.
William Rhoden is a hack by the way.
What are 5 things you think the LPGA players should do to improve their "product"??