The contract for LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan yesterday was "extended" through '20, according to Beth Ann Nichols of GOLFWEEK. Whan "initially signed a four-year deal with the tour" when he took over in '10, and "in his second year, his contract was expanded to six years." Whan said that he thought that six years "might be enough." When it came time to renew his contract, LPGA BOD Chair Mike Trager asked Whan "a few simple questions: Do you like doing this? Do you believe you still make a difference? Do you feel like there is more to do?" Whan's answers "were easy: yes to everything." Whan said that his "personal exhaustion is a quarter of what it was when he first took the job because he has a better team in place." Whan believes that if he can "increase the tour’s fan base, then areas like purse growth will take care of themselves" (GOLFWEEK.com, 3/31). The AP noted Whan since taking over in '10 has "helped the tour grow" from 23 events and $40M in total purses to 33 tourneys and more than $60M in purses in '15. Whan: "I've said many times I don't want to be remembered as the team that brought us from 23 to 33 events. That seems incredibly underwhelming and unfulfilling. It just seems there is a lot more we can do. A lot more we have done" (AP, 3/31).
QUESTION & ANSWER: In California, Larry Bohannan notes from the time Whan accepted the job, the fate of the season's first major in Rancho Mirage "has been one of the biggest questions he had to answer." When All Nippon Airways agreed to a five-year sponsorship deal last November, Whan said that he "felt more relief than anything else." The new ANA Inspiration, which begins tomorrow at Mission Hills Country Club, also "completes one of the major initiatives Whan has stated for his time as commissioner, securing the futures" of the tour's five major championships." ANA's sponsorship and a "retooling of the LPGA Championship into the KMPG Women's PGA Championship complete the financial restructuring of the majors." But Whan said that he is "not going to sit back and relax on the majors just because of deals with ANA, KMPG and the PGA." Whan: "I'm not a big fan of status quo, so I wouldn't say any of those five do we want to say we're there. This event will get bigger and better. I have zero doubt about that. Let's talk in June how great the first KPMG Women's PGA Championship is. But knowing both of those partners, they won't allow '16 to be the same as '15" (
Palm Springs DESERT SUN, 4/1).
