"Those fat old guys riding around in golf carts and chomping cigars on the Champions tour are playing for more money than the LPGA players. That's demeaning to female athletes!"

After months of behind the scenes investigation and source cultivation while reporting for Golf Magazine, Alan Shipnuck tackles the not-to-delicate question of Wilhelmina Models entering golf and selling sex appeal as a way of generating attention for the LPGA Tour. More importantly, this gives golf.com another chance to soak up the hits from the inevitable hot babe photo galleries. Synergy baby!

The W7 was born last year when Wilhelmina Models, the global beauty factory that counts Rebecca Romijn, Fergie and countless runway glamazons as clients, decided to break into women's golf. The inspiration came when Dieter Esch, then the Wilhelmina chairman and now a company consultant, attended an LPGA tournament in Florida. "Like many people, I had certain stereotypes of LPGA players," Esch says. "I was surprised to discover how many of the players were young and athletic and attractive and very personable. To be honest, the tour has done a pretty pathetic job marketing its product, and I knew we could do much, much better."

Comments

[rb]

All I can say is "Maria Verchenova"!

[Josh]

I've had a look at the photo gallery, if time permits i may go back and read the article.

Not likely though.....

[Polictical Correctness is a crime]

golf.com has to do something to get people to their site and their writing certainly won't do it so rightly so they go to the pictures of hot babes strategy .. makes sense when you've got nothing else in the bag

[Smails]

i thought the photo essay was WEAK. bring back Jan in the bathtub of balls. As i recall, there were some other hot ones in theat old shoot too.

[Jordan]

But is Dieter wrong when he says: "To be honest, the tour has done a pretty pathetic job marketing its product . . . ."

[Rock]

The babes are where it's at.

[trevor]

The W7 or W6 should be the W2 as far as I'm concerned. And if that's the best of the LPGA, then Brand Lady is happy to get out when she did.

[Smails]

article is an excuse to publish pin ups--lead should be

"no deals have been consummated. "There are very few endorsement contracts out there for anybody right now,..."

Dieter is a better PR guy than an agent

[Mark Henry]

Rebecca Romijn was born in California.She had not planned on being model. She had to visit to Paris for her Summer so she tried to get some money.Once she got the chance she was on the front cover of the magazine "Elle". After she never looked back. An excellent model.