LPGA TODAY TO FORMALLY ANNOUNCE THAT CAROLYN BIVENS HAS STEPPED DOWN

The LPGA will formally announce that Commissioner Carolyn Bivens has stepped down from her post during a 1:00pm ET press conference today at the tour's HQs in Daytona Beach. The announcement will be made live on Golf Channel by BOD Chair Dawn Hudson, BOD members Marsha Evans and Christina Kim, and retired player Annika Sorenstam. They are also expected to announce an interim commissioner while the board conducts a formal search (Jon Show, SportsBusiness Journal).

Golfer and LPGA Board member Juli Inkster said of Bivens' tenure, "“I think Carolyn’s done a lot of great things for our tour, and I think she worked really hard. But some of the things she tried to do just didn’t work, and whether it’s her fault or not, it just wasn’t working” (N.Y. TIMES, 7/13). Inkster added, "I think Carolyn got a bum rap by being a woman in a man’s world. … She went in there saying this is the way it’s going to be, instead of a softer approach” (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 7/12).