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Young International Talent, Increased Purses Have LPGA On Upswing As '17 Season Starts

The LPGA begins its '17 season today with the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic, and the governing body is "vibrant and healthy" as it enters Commissioner Mike Whan's seventh year in charge, according to Bill Fields of ESPNW. The "fragile and shrinking tour" that Whan inherited, a "product of internal and external factors, is an increasingly distant memory." The LPGA "lost a couple of tournaments" that were on its '16 schedule -- in Ocala, Fla.; S.F.; and Prattville, Ala. -- but "added events in Wisconsin, Indiana, Scotland and New Zealand." Purses "aren't on par" with those of the PGA Tour, but they are "increasing." Official prize money will grow by $4.35M to $67.35M in '17, with 11 of the returning events "offering bigger purses." The largest payout in LPGA history, $5M ($900,000 to the champion), will be "offered for the U.S. Women's Open." If last year is "any indication -- and there is no reason to think it won't be -- a lot of that money will go to players not old enough to rent a car." Meanwhile, with players from "more than two dozen countries represented on the LPGA and golfers from 12 nations having won events" in '16, the tour is "more diverse than ever." That even "extends to players" from the U.S., who won "only two events last year, the fewest in LPGA history" (ESPNW.com, 1/24).


FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: GOLF WORLD's Ryan Herrington wrote it is "hard to imagine things getting worse" for the U.S. LPGA contingent this season. Only Lexi Thompson, at No. 5, is among the top 10 on the Rolex Rankings entering '17. However, the LPGA "appears as competitive as it has ever been in its 66-year history, with a surplus of young, international talent raising the level of play." The average age of winners in '16 was 22.3, with six players 20 or younger "claiming a collective 15 tournament titles" (GOLFWORLD.com, 1/23). The AP wrote if progress is "not the catchword for the LPGA," youth "must be" (AP, 1/25). 

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: In California, Larry Bohannan noted the LPGA has three new events in '17: The Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in Wisconsin, the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open and the McKayson New Zealand Women's Open. The LPGA "tends to be have community-based events, so it will be interesting to see how the new events, particular the one in Wisconsin, perform" (DESERTSUN.com, 1/25). Meanwhile, in S.F., Ron Kroichick reported the LPGA's tournament at Lake Merced Golf Club near S.F. will not "return to the Bay Area" in '17. Tournament Exec Dir Kevin Hopkins on Monday confirmed the news, though he "held out hope" even after the previous title sponsor, South Korea-based Swinging Skirts, "declined to renew its contract." Hopkins "spent most of the past two months trying to connect with a company willing to spend" the $3-4M required, but that "didn’t happen." Kroichick noted this is "not the first time a Bay Area women’s professional golf tournament has disappeared because of sponsorship issues." CVS sponsored the event from '06-10, but LPGA officials "could not find a replacement when the company decided not to return" (SFGATE.com, 1/23).

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