The LPGA held a roundtable discussion yesterday at their JAL
Big Apple Classic in New Rochelle, NY. Among the speakers was
outgoing Commissioner Charlie Mechem, and future Commissioner Jim
Ritts. Mechem said the "Ben Wright affair," in which the CBS
commentator was reportedly quoted on the issue of lesbianism on
the Tour, was good for the game. Mechem said "unequivocally it
had a positive effect," since the article forced the Tour to
discuss an issue that "likely wouldn't have been addressed and it
brought an outpouring of support from the Tour's sponsors." In
today's NEWSDAY, Barbara Barker writes "women's professional golf
has entered a critical juncture" -- where the Tour is undertaking
a change of leadership while it "lags behind women's tennis in
both television exposure and public recognition." Both Mechem
and Ritts said that TV exposure is one of the Tour's "immediate
goals." Ritts also stressed concentrating on the grassroots
(NEWSDAY, 7/20).
ROUNDTABLE NOTES: Ritts also expressed a desire to get on
the info superhighway. LPGA player Dottie Mochrie said she has
noticed "big growth" in the number of media covering them this
year. And Mechem, in his advice to Ritts, said, "Stay close to
the roots of the Tour. -- the sponsors, media and players."
Mechem also urged Ritts to "mount an intense effort to go for
companies who aren't in women's golf and have a strong product
line for women. Also, sponsors who are in men's golf and should
be in women's golf" (LPGA).
