Whan said it was time to publicly announce the move and start working on next steps for his successorGETTY IMAGES
LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan surprised the golf industry with his announcement of his departure sometime this year, but his decision was more than a year in the making. Even as Whan was negotiating a long-term extension in November '19, he was mulling over when would be the right time to leave the LPGA, where he has spent the past 11 years building the property from financially distressed to today, where it boasts its strongest schedule with 34 events and record $76M in prize money. “I was always the young guy, then you wake up one day and you are not the young guy,” Whan said. “Then the pandemic hit and I didn’t get back to it until last Thanksgiving. Any good hard decision takes a while to work out.” Whan, who turns 56 next month, said he also wanted to secure new TV deals in the U.S and Korea prior to his leaving, and he did just that in the past year. He also wanted to align with the Ladies European Tour, which the LPGA accomplished in late '19 with a joint venture. The USGA is in the middle of a search for a new CEO to replace Mike Davis, who is stepping down by the end of '21, but Whan said he is not yet ready to accept any new position. “I need to get through this phase in my life,” Whan said. “That’s just people going ‘there is an opening and there is a guy and let’s connect A to B.’ I am not in an immediate search for a job" (John Lombardo, THE DAILY).
INS AND OUTS: Whan said, “The LPGA’s in great hands. We’ve never been more financially sound, more sponsors, more global partners, more TV coverage, or television viewership. I feel it's the right time.” Whan said, “Numerous times in the last few years, I’ve gotten close to my brain to say, ‘It’s time,’ but I always ended with, ‘But not yet because we still have to do,’ and I’d fill in the blank and the ‘still have to dos’ never end." Whan said of who His successor will be, “We’re going to do what boards do. We’re going to hire a search firm, we’ve (got) great internal candidates, we’re going to look at external candidates. I just hope the next person that follows me does it with passion” ("Golf Today," Golf Channel, 1/6).
BIG SHOES TO FILL: GOLF CHANNEL's Amy Rogers wrote it "will take someone special to begin to fill the void left by Whan." It will "require someone who doesn’t just know golf, or women’s sports, but someone who really knows the LPGA," because the "organization is unique." Anyone who has "spent time working with or covering the LPGA has quickly learned that it takes a special group to learn to not only survive but thrive in the toughest of times." While other golf institutions have "lost dozens of employees in the wake of the pandemic," the LPGA enters '21 "poised for its greatest season yet, with 34 events and a record purse" of $76.4M. That is a "testament to not just Whan’s leadership, but the team he has put in place" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 1/6).
GROWING THE GAME: Golf Channel’s Damon Hack: “From day one, Mike Whan wanted the LPGA to play the big room, to play under the big lights. He wanted to create big events. Whether you like the fifth major championship created at the Evian or not, he was about putting his players in the best position to be seen.” Golf Channel’s Paige Mackenzie: “What stands out to me about his tenure there was always a clear focus, there was always a clear path forward, and he was able to get people to buy into it. It was a time where the LPGA was expanding to create more of a global tour and he was unafraid to say it’s a global tour." Former LPGA player Karen Stupples said Whan “made playing on the LPGA tour fun" (“Golf Today,” Golf Channel, 1/6).
