LPGA’s Bivens Responds To Criticism From Tournament Owners

Bivens Says Upcoming Announcements Will Show LPGA’s Solid Position In Marketplace

LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens responded to the LPGA Tournament Owners Association’s recent criticism of her performance, indicating that “within the next several weeks the tour will make announcements that demonstrate it is in a solid position within the marketplace,” according to GOLFWEEK’s Jay Coffin. While Bivens did not provide details, a source said that Ginn Clubs & Resorts Founder Bobby Ginn is working with the tour to add an event at his Belvidere Club & Resort in Charleston, South Carolina. Bivens added, “It’s the same tournament owners that are going to players and telling them that 11 tournaments are not going to renew [their LPGA deals]. It’s not all true. The players who know what’s going on behind the scenes are pleased with what we’re doing.” Bivens also said that the LPGA has declined “several offers for an umbrella sponsor for the entire tour” (GOLFWEEK, 7/8 issue).

WHY THREE EXECS LEFT: GOLF WORLD’s Ron Sirak writes Bivens has “done little to quiet the disinformation” following the resignations of LPGA execs Liz Ausman, Deb Richard and Julie Tyson. Sources said that the departures “definitely were not firings,” but they had “everything to do with professional concerns and matters of integrity and nothing to do with the personal lives of anyone involved,” as some had speculated. The “backdrop to the resignations involves the tour shopping around the LPGA Championship to a bidder who will guarantee taking the tournament to network television” after McDonald’s moved the event from CBS to The Golf Channel this year. NBC was “miffed it was not offered the opportunity to televise it.” The “final straw prompting the resignations was the tour’s alleged attempt” to set a benchmark $500,000 sanctioning fee for new events. An LPGA spokesperson said that no legal action has been brought against the former execs, but sources said that the group was sent letters by the LPGA “threatening it if they speak publicly” about their departures (GOLF WORLD, 7/7 issue).