LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan on Tuesday hinted that the tour is close to an extension with CME Group regarding the title sponsorship of its season-long points competition. Whan appeared on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” and said that some news should be coming out next week about the Race to the CME Globe around the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Without being specific, he said, “We will be racing for the Globe for a lot of years in the future.” The LPGA created the Race to the CME Globe prior to the ’14 season. Meanwhile, Whan said that the ’18 season should again consist of 35 events. He said, “We’re going to introduce three new events. We're going to move a couple of events. We'll move New Zealand out of 2018 so we can move it to the spring in '19.” He added, “I love our schedule level now. I love playing 34-35 times. I think that’s the right number.” The official schedule will be released next week.
RATINGS ON THE UPSWING: Whan noted the LPGA has had “significant TV rating increases for the last six or seven years in a row.” He said, “Four or five years ago, I sat in a chair like this and we talked about U.S. TV ratings. I was critical of the U.S. winners. Last year on tour, there were two American winners and our TV ratings were up significantly in America. This year we've had seven American wins -- so it's a different story -- but our TV ratings are up 16% in America” (“Morning Drive,” Golf Channel, 11/7).
