The PGA Tour and the LPGA are moving closer to creating a joint tournament as part of their groundbreaking agreement that already has brought cross-marketing efforts.
The tour and the LPGA last March announced a strategic alliance that calls for developing joint marketing programs, including the possibility of creating an event that would feature both LPGA and tour players. In addition, the deal calls for the tour to represent the LPGA in its television negotiations.
The alliance emphasized potential but lacked specifics.
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The tour and the LPGA held a joint news conference last year when they played the same venue in Malaysia in back-to-back weeks.
Photos by: Getty Images |
The big question is when the LPGA and the tour will finalize terms to stage a jointly held tournament. One possibility: The tour is considering including both men and women pros at its Tournament of Champions January event in Hawaii. The format for the event would have to be established.
“It is a question of calendar, sponsorship and a question of TV to some degree,” said Ty Votaw, chief marketing officer of the PGA Tour.
LPGA Chief Commercial Officer Jon Podany said arranging a joint event is a priority. “It is at the top of the list,” he said. “Both sides have a genuine interest.”
While much work remains on a possible joint tournament, the alliance has started bearing fruit in other areas over the past 12 months. The tour now adds LPGA tournament updates during its television coverage on CBS and the Golf Channel. In addition, the LPGA is included among links to tour-run properties featured on PGATour.com.
The tour and LPGA also held a joint news conference last August when the tour and the LPGA played at the same venue in Malaysia in back-to-back weeks for the 2016 CIMB Classic and the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. Most recently, the properties partnered last month to hold youth golf clinics at five Topgolf facilities nationwide.
The moves aren’t earth shattering, but nonetheless point to the partnership’s progress.
“Before the relationship, you would never have seen that,” Votaw said. “We are promoting the LPGA across our digital platforms. Those are the areas where we have had a focus most recently.”
While the LPGA’s television deal on Golf Channel runs through 2019, both sides are working together to plan the LPGA’s broadcast future.
“We are having a lot of discussions as to what the future can look like,” Podany said. “We are trying to learn from them about the marketplace. There are a lot of efforts going on.”
