"The constancy of The Dinah has been no small thing"

I’ve been mulling the complicated dynamics of The Dinah’s planned move to an unnamed course in Houston and the pressures of providing increased pay for players. Something has to give and the value of history is always underestimated until the damage has been done. But it’s worth remembering how many players helped build the oldest majors into what they are and how many of them did it for the trophy, not the purse value.

This is not to impugn today’s players since not one has said they were unsure about playing the women’s first major due to the purse, or that it should lose its major status if it were to not keep up with the efforts by the USGA, PGA of America/KPMG or R&A/AIG to offer more money. Such a stance would be better than seeing how quickly folks have been willing to toss aside the value of what was built over 50 years and use equal pay or the allure of a blue chip sponsor as the justification. You don’t need to have inhabited this planet long to know corporate sponsors come and go.

Thankfully, Bill Fields put some thoughts together on this complex topic in a must-read edition of his newsletter, The Albatross.

A teaser:

But beyond that basic equation, the demise of the ANA Inspiration and the formation of the Chevron Championship is also something else: an additional piece for the growth-or-preservation puzzle that always seems to be on golf’s kitchen table. Increasingly, tradition is the sliver of cardboard that goes missing.

R.I.P. The Dinah

As you might imagine, my soft spot for golf history makes the decision to ship 50 years of history off to Houston, Texas a pretty dreadful looking decision by all involved. I wrote about the impact of moving the LPGA’s first major for Quad subscribers here.

Larry Bohannan took on the topic for the Desert Sun.

While I totally get the purse growth and network TV narratives in the competitive world of women’s majors, it still stinks. For Immediate Release:

Chevron Joins LPGA Family as Title Sponsor of The Chevron Championship

Chevron to increase prize fund to $5 million

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Oct. 5, 2021 – The LPGA and IMG announced today Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is the new title sponsor of The Chevron Championship (formerly the ANA Inspiration) through a six-year partnership. 

“Chevron is proud to become the title sponsor of this great championship, which brings together some of the most talented athletes in the world,” said Michael Wirth, chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation. “We look forward to partnering with the LPGA and IMG to further champion women in sports, the workplace and society.”  

As part of the sponsorship, Chevron will increase the prize fund for the 2022 Championship by over 60% to $5 million. In addition, the historic major will feature a special Player Advisory Board to help ensure that The Chevron Championship supports and attracts the leading LPGA Tour players and they are at the heart of our future plans and advancements for the Championship. 

Mollie Marcoux Samaan, LPGA Commissioner, commented: “We could not be more excited to announce our partnership with Chevron. Welcoming another leading global company to our portfolio of sponsors that believes in the power of the LPGA to inspire women leaders, to showcase human performance at the highest level and to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion in all facets of life, is truly game-changing for us. We are so grateful for Chevron’s extraordinary commitment to the LPGA and to the overall player experience and look forward to a long and successful relationship.”

The 2022 Chevron Championship will take place at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, March 31-April 3, 2022. As part of the new era, The Chevron Championship will move to a later date in the spring and will relocate to a new home, which will most likely be in the greater Houston area starting with the 2023 edition. The new host club will be confirmed in the coming months. Moving the date later in the spring also allowed the LPGA to secure a long-term commitment from NBC Sports to air the Championship on network TV. Further, moving to a major area like Houston will foster tremendous fan engagement, participation and excitement within the community and among Chevron employees. Chevron, the LPGA and IMG are dedicated to celebrating the important role the City of Rancho Mirage and the Club has played in the tournament’s history with the 2022 event. They will also make sure to bring the many years of tradition and memories built at Mission Hills to the new venue. 

Marcoux Samaan added: “We do not make the move lightly. Since David Foster and Dinah Shore created this competition in 1972, it has held a special place in the hearts of our players and fans around the world. No matter where it is held, Dinah and her influence, along with the history built at Mission Hills, will be an integral part of The Chevron Championship. We thank ANA and Mission Hills for their tremendous support and look forward to celebrating the many years of tradition as we continue to add to its footprint in the history of women’s sports.”

Lydia Ko, a Player Director on the LPGA Board of Directors and the 2016 Chevron Championship winner, said: “Having a global company like Chevron to support women’s golf is really exciting for everyone involved with the LPGA. Their aspirations for growing this major together with the LPGA and IMG are amazing for the future of our Tour. We have all made some lovely memories at Mission Hills over the years which we will enjoy celebrating in 2022 and take with us to The Chevron Championship’s new home, where I know we will make many more.” 

ANA, who supported the tournament for seven editions, will continue as a partner in 2022. 

Ed McEnroe, SVP Golf Events at IMG said: “We are delighted to welcome Chevron as title sponsor of this historic major, securing the future of the event. Their vision and enthusiasm for working together will not only enhance the stature of The Chevron Championship, but will also make a significant impact that extends far beyond the tournament itself. We want to thank ANA. They have been a wonderful partner over the past seven years and their support during this pandemic has really gone above and beyond given how seriously the airline industry has been impacted these past 18 months. We look forward to building on this great Championship’s legacy having celebrated its 50th edition only six months ago.”

About Chevron
Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies. We believe affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy is essential to achieving a more prosperous and sustainable world. Chevron produces crude oil and natural gas; manufactures transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and additives; and develops technologies that enhance our business and the industry. To advance a lower carbon future, we are focused on lowering the carbon intensity in our operations and growing our lower carbon businesses. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

About the LPGA 
The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women, with a goal to change the face of golf by making the sport more accessible and inclusive. 

Created in 1950 by 13 Founders, the Association celebrates a diverse and storied history. The LPGA Tour competes across the globe, reaching television audiences in more than 220 countries. The Symetra Tour, the LPGA’s official qualifying tour, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. The LPGA also holds a joint-venture collaboration with the Ladies European Tour (LET), increasing playing opportunities for female golfers in Europe. Across the three Tours, the LPGA represents players in more than 60 countries.

Additionally, the LPGA Foundation has empowered and supported girls and women since 1991, most notably through LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, the only national program of its kind, which annually engages with nearly 100,000 girls. The LPGA Amateur Golf Association and LPGA Women’s Network provide virtual and in-person connections to female golfers around the world, while LPGA Professionals are educators, business leaders and gamechangers dedicated to growing the game of golf for everyone.

Follow the LPGA on its U.S. television home, Golf Channel, online at www.LPGA.com and on its mobile apps. Join the social conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About IMG 
IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion, events and media. The company manages some of the world’s greatest athletes and fashion icons; owns and operates hundreds of live events annually; and is a leading independent producer and distributor of sports and entertainment media. IMG also specializes in licensing, sports training and league development. IMG is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global entertainment, sports and content company.

Girl On Fire: Leona Maguire

You know she’s big when Leona Maguire gets a song, Sam Harrop’s twist on Alicia Keys’ Girl On Fire. And from the sound of things in Beth Ann Nichols’ roundup of Solheim Cup notes and other loose ends, she was genuinely fired-up for Sunday’s singles match against Jennifer Kupcho.

In fact, Solheim rookie Leona Maguire was the undisputed Woman of the Match, earning 4 ½ points, including an absolute beatdown against Jennifer Kupcho, 5 and 4, to score Europe’s first singles point. She was the only player in the event to play all five matches.

“I heard that Kupcho made some comments last night in the team room and that fueled a little bit of fire,” said Maguire, who wouldn’t divulge what she’d heard.

The 26-year-old Duke graduate spent 135 weeks as the top amateur in the world and was a stalwart in every kind of amateur team competition imaginable. Now the whole of golf knows of her gutsy talent.

“She’s the one we’re going to have to fear,” said Hurst, “for a long time.”

Harrop’s latest…

"The neatest moments in golf are when you’re not thinking about money at all, and for both fan and player the world becomes ball, hole, club in hand."

Strong stuff from Golf.com’s Michael Bamberger on the flat Tour Championship vs. the Solheim Cup:

You can’t have professional golf without prize money. Golf without prize money is amateur golf. But the neatest moments in golf are when you’re not thinking about money at all, and for both fan and player the world becomes ball, hole, club in hand.

That’s why, in no particular order, the four men’s Grand Slam events are so enduring, as are the four women’s majors (sorry, Evian), the three senior majors for men, plus the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup and (some years more than others) the Presidents Cup. In Toledo on Sunday, the earth was shaking when Jennifer Kupcho do her thing and then Mel Reid did hers. As pure sport-as-theater, it was hard — you could say impossible — not to be more drawn to that.

Quadrilateral: Solheim Cup Takeaways

Inverness is a major venue and the Solheim Cup felt big thanks to the players, course and having Judy Rankin back. That all masked another low-budget effort from NBC/Golf Channel and the odd call to not show final day on the big network.

In the latest Quadrilateral, I cover the course and the brouhaha that is festering as I type due to fans badgering Nelly Korda online. Amazing how these Amer…oh wait, it’s Europeans? Anyway, a super three days of Solheim golf at a course deserving of more majors. And The Quadrilateral covers majors so subscribe!

Carnasty, It Was Not: Nordqvist Wins Women’s Open

My Quadrilateral wrap of the 2021 AIG Women’s Open from Carnoustie.

Mother Nature did not deliver but the course still produced an interesting finish and worthy champion in Anna Nordqvist.

Granted, it was hard to tell from a listless NBC broadcast interrupted at all the wrong moments by breaks (where have we heard that before?). That plus other elements from Sunday’s final round are noted in the latest installment.

Purse Wars! AIG Women's Open Becomes Richest In Golf

We’ve had the road wars, the rabbit wars, World Wars and now the R&A one-upping the USGA’s record U.S. Women’s Open purse of $5.5 million.

For Immediate Release, and do note how the R&A never mentions the surpassing of the U.S. Women’s Open…

THE 2021 AIG WOMEN’S OPEN SETS A NEW BENCHMARK FOR WOMEN’S GOLF WITH RECORD PRIZE FUND

18 August 2021, Carnoustie, Scotland: The AIG Women’s Open has set a new benchmark for prize money in women’s golf with the announcement that the prize fund for this year’s championship will increase by $1.3 million to $5.8 million with the winner earning $870,000.

With the support of title sponsor AIG, the largest prize fund in women’s major championship golf will increase by a further $1 million to no less than $6.8 million in 2022. This will more than double the prize fund from 2018 before AIG’s partnership with The R&A commenced.

The AIG Women’s Open takes place from 19-22 August at Carnoustie and will be played in 2022 at Muirfield, another of Scotland’s world-renowned links courses.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “We are absolutely committed to elevating the AIG Women’s Open and enhancing its status as one of golf’s premier championships. With our partners at AIG, we are taking action to make change happen and sending out a strong signal that more needs to be done by everyone involved to grow women’s golf. It needs greater investment and support from golf bodies, sponsors, the media and fans to help us grow the game’s commercial success and generate the income and revenues necessary to make prize fund growth viable and sustainable.

“We have set a new benchmark for prize money in women’s major championship golf this week and, thanks to AIG, will build on it still further next year. We hope this will inspire other events to follow our lead and help us to take a collective leap forward for the women’s game.”

Peter Zaffino, President and Chief Executive Officer of AIG, said, “AIG is proud to be the title sponsor of the AIG Women’s Open, which is one of the most prestigious and celebrated golf championships in the world. We are committed to serving as allies to women in golf, in business and in the communities where we live and work. Striving for pay equity and highlighting the achievements of successful women are critical components to this commitment and part of AIG’s core values. We are very pleased with today’s announcement as it represents an important step forward in raising the profile of women’s golf and the status of the AIG Women’s Open. We thank The R&A for their excellent partnership and I am confident that together we will continue to lead the way in achieving meaningful progress.”

In 2019, in AIG’s first year as title sponsor of the championship the prize fund was increased by $1.25 million to $4.5 million, an increase of almost 40% on the previous year.

Women's Open: Carnoustie Will Be Tougher This Time Around

Matt Cooper previews the AIG Women’s Open and its return to Carnoustie after ten years.

This time around, it seems the players should expect a much tougher test.

Five years before that, Carnoustie made its debut on the Women’s Open rota and once again the tee boxes were in the wrong place. The final hole, as we all know, is a brute, with the Barry Burn threatening both the drive and the approach. Those too fearful of the water risk dragging the ball into rough on the left (or, worse, out of bounds), taking the green out of the equation for the second shot.

It’s unquestionably one of the toughest examinations in world golf and yet the field didn’t face it. The tee was moved up, the drive became straightforward, and the burn was more or less irrelevant for both the first and second bunt.

It was a little like plotting a route for the Tour de France that ignored both the Alps and the Pyrenees, instead just faffing about on the flat.

Lydia Ko already confirmed, reports The Scotsman’s Martin Dempster.

“Seventeen is a beast. Eighteen is also a beast,” declared the two-time major winner, expressing a view, of course, shared by most people, even though Paul Lawrie birdied both of them in the play-off in his 1999 Open win.

"We're going to lose fans because we are taking so long to play"

Stacy Lewis was talking about the LPGA Tour but she certainly could have been referring to the men’s game as well.

Returning to Scotland for the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, one of the fastest players in the game discussed the issue in this piece by Beth Ann Nichols.

The key quote:

“I just think it needs to be a courtesy thing,” said Lewis, “because we need to realize as a tour, we’re going to lose people watching us and we’re going to lose fans because we are taking so long to play and I think that’s what really needs to be hammered home to people is we need to do it more from that side than anything.”

"Women Golfers Are Embracing the Power Era. Is That a Good Thing?"

Paul Sullivan takes an NY Times look at chasing distance through the eyes of a few LPGA Tour players and it’s fascinating to read that some already regret the effort. But it’s also staggering to see the dispersion of average distances compared to the men.

The difference between the longest hitter on the L.P.G.A. Tour and the 168th ranked player, who is the last one on the list, is 60 yards. On the Ladies European Tour, which co-sanctions the Evian with the L.P.G.A., the difference is 79 yards between first and 168th place.

But even those numbers may downplay how far the longest hitters drive the ball, because the bombers do not always have to reach for their drivers to get maximum distance; they can play it safe with a 3-wood or iron and still be way out there.

By contrast, the difference between the longest hitter on the PGA Tour and number 168 is 33 yards. And almost all of those players are capable of hitting the ball 300 yards or more.

Anyway, it’s a good story and one to bookmark if you’re the parent of an aspiring young woman wondering if distance must be chased.

Whan On The Way Out: "We write a check six times a year to be on network TV."

Al Lunsford of Links chatted with Mike Whan on his way out of the LPGA Commissionership and into the USGA CEO job, where he says his immediate priority is to learn the rules and ask questions.

But his response to a question about the biggest obstacle to LPGA Tour popularity is a good reminder about what his successor faces:

I’ve always struggled with, “You just don’t deliver the viewership of the others.” Well, they’re paid to be on network TV 35 weeks a year; we write a check six times a year to be on network TV. If you asked me to run a 100-yard dash but I have to start 170 yards back, I don’t expect to win many races. We’ve closed the gap—virtually 12 years of viewership increases in the U.S. and around the world—but we’ve still never been given an equal playing field. It’s hard to engage with athletes you don’t see very much.

His comment about the LPGA having to pay to get on networks has been made before, but it’s still fascinating to hear given the recent gender equity talk.

Also noteworthy: Whan essentially says being on the Golf Channel means the tour is not seen very much. Psst…Mike, they host all of your new job’s events. Be nice!

2021 Travelers Ratings Hit 19-Year High, Audience Peaks At 6.6 Million

Sports TV on Sunday
Women's Gymnastics Olympic Trials on NBC: 5.752 million viewers
Bucks-Hawks on TNT: 5.595 million
PGA Travelers on CBS: 3.972 million

— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) June 29, 2021

Paulsen reports at Sports Media Watch on huge numbers for the Travelers, won by Harris English in a dramatic 8-hole playoff over Kramer Hickok that ran nearly two hours past CBS’s allotted window.

The final round averaged 3.97 million and peaked within 2 million of the recent U.S. Open’s highest audience number.

The telecast, which peaked with 6.66 million viewers from 8 PM ET to the conclusion, delivered the sixth-largest golf audience of the year and the third-largest with majors excluded. Only the final rounds of the Players (4.59M) and at Pebble Beach (4.19M) rank higher outside of the majors.

With the (suspicious) demise of ShowBuzzDaily.com, I don’t have access to the KPMG LPGA Championship final round rating. But Nelly Korda’s first major win ran concurrent to the Travelers in yet another reminder of golf’s scheduling issues.

Nellie Korda Takes Women's PGA, First American World No. 1 Since 2014

A terrific performance by Nellie Korda to win the KPMG Women’s PGA for reasons other than being just 22:

• It comes just weeks after a bad missed cut in the U.S. Women’s Open

• Arguably too fast of a golfer at times, she dueled with Lizette Salas, a wonderful player and amazing story, but a very slow one.

Beth Ann Nichols’ Golfweek story filed from Atlanta Athletic Club included this:

At 22, Nelly came into the KPMG Women’s PGA, her 26th major start, the undisputed best player on the LPGA without a major. By week’s end, kids lined the barricades that led from the 18th green up to the clubhouse shouting her name.

On a sweltering Sunday, Nelly fulfilled the promise she’d shown from a young age, becoming the first American to rise to No. 1 in the world since Stacy Lewis in 2014, ending a drought that stretched 2,678 days. She also became the first American to win an LPGA major since 2018, when Angela Stanford won the Evian Championship.

“I’ve put in a lot of work and to finally get a win,” she later said on the 18th green, “or two wins under my belt, or three wins, sorry.”

Spectacular shot by @NellyKorda! 🔥#KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/2HLFvVqNhj

— KPMGWomensPGA (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 27, 2021

Former World No. 1 Shanshan May Be Retiring After The Olympics

Upon missing the KPMG PGA Championship cut, Shanshan Feng revealed she’s contemplating retirement after representing China in the Olympics. The former World No. 1 and former KPMG PGA winner is a mainstay of major leaderboards and recently contended again at the U.S. Women’s Open.

From Beth Ann Nichols’ story for Golfweek.com:

Feng told instructor Gary Gilchrist from the start that she’d like give it her all for 10 years on the LPGA and then move on. The Olympics changed that timeline, and it was pushed back even further due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Feng took all of 2020 off, returning in March at the ANA Inspiration where she tied for third.

“Her swing is better than ever,” said Gilchrist.

Mercer Leftwich has been on Feng’s bag since 2011 and believes that a lot of Feng’s success comes from her confidence. She’s also not one to overwork.

Leftwich jokes that if Feng leaves the tour for too long, he’d fly over to China and bring her back.

“She started laughing,” said Leftwich on Thursday, “saying ‘No, he will!’ ”

Feng, who confirmed the same to Golf Channel after her second round on Friday, played the first two rounds at Atlanta Athletic Club with Anne van Dam, and said that she was routinely 50 to 60 yards behind her.

It Seems Like The Post Round Interview Is Doomed

A couple weekends ago I watched the end of two events: an Indy race on NBC and a competitive sailing competition on CBS.

At the Indy race, about ten drivers were interviewed to help fill time when the race ended early. This included a driver who crashed.

On the sailing, which was on tape, the American team’s jib broke, or someone’s Sperry’s slipped, I don’t know. But they were knocked out of the race and within seconds they went to the captain wearing a microphone to hear what went wrong. He answered while they were still reeling from what went wrong.

Both sports were also full of sound allowing us to eavesdrop on the proceedings. During the interviews, logos were visible, the drivers let you get to know them better and all that screen time pleased the people who write the checks.

Pro golf is going the opposite direction.

In-round interviews have died (again). Sound of conversations seems like it’s less prevalent. And now post-round interviews of anyone but the winner seem in danger.

Following Naomi Osaka’s French Open WD over post-round media stress , some golfers have opened up about how much pressure they feel from announcer criticisms or post round interviews. While these sessions generally don’t yield much, it’s still a shame that some feel questions starting with the world “how” or “talk about” can be seen as so stressful.

Of course writers and television will miss them and the shirt logo and watch deals might start to disappear, but mental health does take priority. And maybe if there is no danger of losing access, announcers can call the action more accurately.

Maybe these are isolated cases, but here’s a review of some recent comments on the topic, starting with Bubba Watson at the U.S. Open.

“The sad part for me is we celebrate every sport in the world. We celebrate accomplishments. We celebrate a guy scoring 50 points in the NBA. They are not saying quit shooting three-pointers. But we don't celebrate when a guy makes eight birdies or a guy bombs it 400 yards. I don't understand how we're not celebrating. We're trying to make golf courses bigger, harder, dumber, however you want to word it, but we're not celebrating our great players. I'm definitely not in that group of great players. I'm saying I want to see these guys hammering the ball. I want the next up-and-comer. I want a 6'8" guy not playing in the NBA, I want to see him on the PGA Tour bombing the ball. We're the only sport not celebrating accomplishments of being a guy working out in the gym that can hit the ball miles. We're mad at that guy. I don't know why, but we are. I'm not, but some people are -- golf course designers. The NBA, Tom Brady winning, throwing touchdowns, we celebrate that. ESPN talks about it nonstop. They don't ever talk about us chopping out of the -- hey, he laid up again. That's great. Anyway, that's my rant for the day.”

Given the influence his advice has had on Matthew Wolff, here is what Wolff had to say while dealing with undisclosed issues.

“I was talking to Bubba Watson earlier on the range this week and he told me he stopped watching golf, he only watches LPGA because they're so positive. He goes, LPGA is like the commentators, like everyone is just so positive, like every shot they hit is the best shot ever. And I think that -- and I'm not, I'm not like hating on the LPGA, I think it's awesome, because like these shots are hard out here and it's like, you know, sometimes they're describing a shot and they make it sound easy and it's not. And it's just, I'm only trying to have positive thoughts in my head and be positive. And I mean, kudos to pretty much every professional athlete out there, it's, I haven't been in this world for a long time, but it's fucking hard.”

And this in advance of the KPMG LPGA from Jessica Korda:

“You have fans coming to follow you, and if you're not playing your best, you obviously feel like you're disappointing everyone, and you get asked about it right after. It's never easy not playing well and then kind of answering the questions why because you're trying to figure it out yourself.”

This could just be a short term post-pandemic thing that will change when crowds come back and some normalcy returns. But this also could build momentum in the other direction and lead to more players saying no. I’m not sure that’s great for “growing the game,” but we’ll find out soon enough.