The LPGA Tour has signed a five-year deal with the
Futures Tour to make it the official developmental tour of
the LPGA, according to Javier Solano of the ORLANDO
SENTINEL. As part of the deal, the top three finishers on
the Futures money list will earn their LPGA cards for the
next season, and the next seven will "advance directly into
the final stages of the LPGA Qualifying School." The LPGA
will also provide "counseling and marketing resources" for
Futures, which pays a licensing fee. But the two Tours will
remain "separate entities with a common goal, development."
The Futures, which currently has 19 tournaments, will be a
"version of the Nike Tour" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/14).
TPA'S GLOVES COME OFF? Acting Tour Players Association
President Danny Edwards mailed a letter to every card-
carrying PGA Tour player two weeks ago that pointed out that
pro golf's growth has "significantly lagged behind the other
major sports." From Edwards' letter: "Take hockey. That
should be a reasonable comparison. The average salary of
the top 10 hockey players is $7,485,000. The average of the
top 10 golfers is $1,469,000. And remember, these athletes
get all their expenses covered, and they travel in style,
private planes, suites, etc." Edwards "suspects" that the
PGA Tour only pays out about 10% of its total revenues to
players. Edwards, on PGA Tour leadership: "If we looked at
our administrators the way we look at our managers, we would
have replaced them long ago" (SUN-SENTINEL, 1/10).
GOLF, A BASIC INSTINCT: Actor Michael Douglas and eight
other celebrities will play a three-man, three-team scramble
to be aired April 11 on ABC as a lead-in to the final round
of The Masters, which will air on CBS at 4:00pm ET. The
idea for the event came from Douglas and Jack Nicklaus
Productions President Terry Jastrow (USA TODAY, 1/14).
