The equal payout for the newly created “Aon Risk Reward Challenge” competition on the PGA Tour and LPGA has "earned the attention" of golfers on the female circuit, whose financial compensation in the "competitive and corporate spheres lag far behind their PGA Tour brethren," according to Karen Crouse of the N.Y. TIMES. Golfer Brittany Lincicome said of the sponsorship that includes a $1M prize to a player from each tour, "Normally the guys get way more money than we do, so this is a step in the right direction." Crouse notes the challenge calls for players on both tours to accumulate a season-long score from one selected hole across numerous season-long events. LPGA CMO Jon Podany said, "Obviously their main goal is winning the tournament, and that won’t change, but when you’ve got a million-dollar prize, I would think the players will be concentrating on their performance on that hole each week and I think the players will be excited about it" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/10). Golfer Paula Creamer on Twitter said she will be planning her strategy for the designated Aon challenge hole "each week next season." Creamer: "Thank you @Aon_plc for opportunity next season to earn an equal $1M #prizeonpar to the men!" (TWITTER.com, 7/9).
BIRDIE OPPORTUNITY? Podany said of the sponsorship, "This will be an exciting competition for the fans to follow. Certainly, it'll get the players’ interest and they're very excited about it and with TV too, it will be an intriguing element for the Golf Channel to talk about on their telecasts throughout the year.” Podany: “It's not going to be the same kind of hole. We want to test the players’ ability to think through and strategize. There will be an advisory committee put together that includes representation from our rules officials, the tournament team, the Golf Channel broadcast team." Podany said of where the idea for the challenge originated from, “This is one where Aon brought to us. They had identified this concept in conjunction with their agency, CSM, and we met starting back at the PGA Show in January." Podnay said over the course of the last six months, the LPGA has been "working through what this could look like, how can we bring this to life, how can they integrate themselves into our Tour, and collaborating with the PGA Tour as well" (“Morning Drive,” Golf Channel, 7/9).
