Golfer Natalie Gulbis appears in this year's SI Swimsuit Issue wearing nothing but a body-painted bikini, and GOLF.com's weekly roundtable debated whether the photo shoot is good for Gulbis and the LPGA. SI Golf Group Managing Editor Jim Herre said, “Of course appearing in Swimsuit was good for Gulbis, but it was also good for the LPGA, which needs all the exposure it can get.” Golf.com Exec Editor Charlie Hanger said, “I don't think it will help or hurt women's golf, but is anyone seriously making that argument?” He added, “It's good for the LPGA -- they could use the publicity.” SI’s Alan Shipnuck said, “The LPGA tried the sexpot route 30 years ago with Jan Stephenson. It's silly and marginalizing to other players who fail to conform to our culturally-mandated ideas of beauty (like Yani). The golf is enough for those of us who love the LPGA.” SI Senior Writer Michael Bamberger: “The body paint on Natalie does nothing for the LPGA” (GOLF.com, 2/19). GOLF WORLD’s Ron Sirak wrote when the LPGA “has such good stories to tell as Yani Tseng, Lexi Thompson and Jessica Korda, it does no harm to capitalize on other ways to get people talking about women’s golf.” Gulbis’ SI images “might bring more fans to tournaments and viewers to TV” (GOLF WORLD MONDAY, 2/20 issue). In California, Larry Bohannan noted Gulbis' appearance in the magazine "certainly shows just how far the LPGA has come in its acceptance of its players' sexuality and looks in the last three decades." It was not that long ago that golfer Jan Stephenson "suffered a certain backlash for posing for a sexy calendar in the 1980s." The LPGA has "promoted the fact that many of its stars these days, such as Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Sandra Gal and Cristie Kerr, are young, personable and good looking on top of their tremendous golf skills." Also, several players, including Christina Kim and Belen Mozo have recently appeared in ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue (Palm Springs DESERT SUN, 2/17). But in Sacramento, Tom Couzens wrote, "Here's hoping SI gives these athletes more coverage for their sports successes" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/19).
NEEDING THE ALL-AMERICAN GIRL? LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said that the “lack of dominant American names hasn't affected the tour's popularity.” Whan: "To be honest with you, in America, the 'We have to have an American star' thing is changing. A lot of Americans think Annika Sorenstam (former No. 1 from Sweden) was born and raised in America. Our North American TV viewership is up 39 percent (from 2010 to 2011). So even without the one name, the U.S. response to women's golf has been staggering the last 12 months." Whan said that the “presence of international stars is what has helped the tour, not hurt it.” Whan: "We're a better tour than we were 20 years ago. And one of the reasons is because we're leading the way in proving that golf is borderless" (KOREA TIMES, 2/21).
