Cristie Kerr enters this week's LPGA Sybase Match Play Championship as the only American player among the top eight seeds, but LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan claims that "international flavor is the LPGA's strength," according to Mark Everson of the N.Y. POST. Instead of "fighting the trend, Whan embraces it." He said, "The LPGA is leading the way in the globalization of golf. Everybody's coming. It's going to look like this on every tour. We're just there quicker. ... We've really created the Global Tour. So watch out for us." Everson notes the LPGA this season has 13 U.S. tourneys and 13 outside the country. However, Whan "admits the U.S. market matters." Whan: "We don't want to be such a global tour that we lose our home base. I'll only expand internationally as we expand in the U.S." Despite the "dominance of internationals, Whan claimed the state of American women's golf is just fine" (N.Y. POST, 5/18). However, in New Jersey, Steve Adamek notes no U.S. golfer has "dominated the sport the way Annika Sorenstam, then [Lorena] Ochoa did before both retired and turned the world’s No. 1 ranking over to a variety of players, many of them Asian-born." Golfers Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel "agree that an American presence is important to the LPGA." Although "three of its last four majors were won by Americans," the tour "deals with the perception that it’s Asian-dominated." Lincicome: "The fans really enjoy seeing Americans at the top of the leaderboard. (The LPGA) is an American-based company and it’s televised in the states, and people in the states love golf. I think it would bring more viewers and more people out to the tournaments" (Bergen RECORD, 5/18).
GRAB BAG: The LPGA determined the bracket for the Match Play Championship this week by having players reach into a bag and selecting a golf ball with a players' name on it. The players were not ranked 1-64, instead letting the LPGA do something Golf Channel's Erik Kuselias said was "kind of radical (in) determining who was going to play who." Whan said, "We saw last year during the draw party the fun that the players were having with each other in the process, and so we said it showcases the personalities of the LPGA players in a great way." Whan said he has not heard any complaints from LPGA members about the format, "but it's early in the week." Kuselias said he has "advocated" this format before and Whan added, "The fact that we're talking about it this morning is one of the things that makes it good. It creates an interest level before they tee it off" ("Morning Drive," Golf Channel, 5/18).
