Whan has been largely praised for his prompt postponement of LPGA eventsGETTY IMAGES
LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan has been a "strong and confident figure for his players and staffers" during a time when the world "looks to its leaders amid a pandemic," according to Josh Berhow of GOLF.com. On Jan. 30, the LPGA "canceled an event in China due to coronavirus concerns, and two more events, one in Thailand and one in Singapore, were canceled on Feb. 10." Whan said, “Maybe the LPGA, in a strange way, was a little ahead of the curve." Berhow noted it was "during this time the LPGA formed a COVID-19 Crisis Team to address the ever-changing situation." The "entire time Whan was communicating" with the LPGA’s 14-person BOD, which includes six active LPGA members. The Crisis Team "meets every other day now." PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan "received some criticism with how he and the Tour handled" the Players. In contrast, Whan was "largely praised for his prompt postponement of the LPGA’s next three events." But he said that such reaction is "not fair," as the LPGA was not playing that week. Whan added that he talked with Monahan "often about their situations, and he spent most of Wednesday in meetings with him" (GOLF.com, 3/19).
ALL IN IT TOGETHER: Whan earlier this week posted a video on the LPGA's website in which he addressed golfers on the tour and said, "I know there are anxious times. I know you're frustrated. I know you're worried. I share all the same sentiments. I don't have all the answers to the questions that I'm getting." He said the LPGA, by canceling the number of events it has, needed to "do what we could to make sure that we weren't part of any kind of spread of this virus." However, he added, "At the same time, we're ready. Our sponsors are ready to play, our TV partners are ready to showcase us. And I certainly know this -- if I know anything over the weekend, our athletes are ready to tee it up. But we'll use golf to pull us together" (LPGA).
BAD NEWS OR GOOD NEWS FIRST? GOLFWEEK's Julie Williams reports the LPGA on Friday "informed its players that three more domestic events will be postponed," making the Pelican Women's Championship on May 14-17 in Belleair, Fla., the next scheduled event. However, the tour also announced that the ANA Inspiration has been "rescheduled for Sept. 10-13 at Mission Hills Country Club." The Cambia Portland Classic, which had "previously been scheduled for those dates," has been pushed to the following week. Whan in a letter to players wrote that he had "held out on postponement of those next events as long as they could." He also noted that he had "made a promise to himself not to send any more cancellations without also sending positive news" (GOLFWEEK.com, 3/20).
