Jul 12

LPGA should follow WTA's lead and cash in on Wie, young hot talent

All the cat fights that have taken place on our little blog boards make me wonder: When is the LPGA going to cash in on the high drama they currently possess?

Last time i checked, no blog that ripped any pro male golfer had 35 comments. Frankly, no one cares about a Woods/Immelman duel like they do a Wie/Anything one.

Look at Professional tennis: Right now the only major that doesn’t pay EQUAL is Wimbledon, and that will soon change in the next couple years.

What’s the difference between tennis and golf? Not much. They’re both sissy country club sports that require hand-eye coordination over brute strength. Cute young girls in skirts will never go out of style as well. LPGA players also play a more similar game to 95-percent of amateur golfers, meaning they can relate more to a 160-yard 7-iron over pitching wedge.

However, corporate sponsorships in golf heavily outweigh tennis. The message must be delivered to the men writing the checks the LPGA is an undervalued bull market, which it is.

Jim Cramer on MSNBC’s Mad Money would say it’s a definite ‘BOO YA!!”

Simply put: The LPGA is completely under-achieving in allowing its purses and corporate sponsorships to be miniscule compared to the boys. The PGA currently lacks any big storyline, while the LPGA has several.

The NBA has Lebron and Wade, NHL has Ovechkin, Ward and Crosby, the NFL has Reggie Bush, the LPGA has a sorority of talented young women vs. the home-schooled kid, and the PGA has a bunch of good foreigners, none of which the USA fan base will ever embrace.

The window may not be open too long. A men’s golf phenom is sure to emerge in the next couple years, Tiger may start trying more than six times a year – and Michelle Wie’s flame may burn out faster than expected.

It’s now or never for the LPGA.

« Gulbis and Danica remain winless despite photo spreads, etc.

Greatest Sports Meltdowns: Mickelson's driver at U.S. Open or Zidane's head-butt in World Cup? »

8 comments

Comment from: Ron Mon [Member]

I have been working out this year more than ever, and see little biceps peeking out from my sleeves. I do four different wrist curls, and have jacked forearms for bottle-opening and jar-cracking. Golf is a much better sport when you bulk up.

Most guys I know are afraid to watch the LPGA tour...Wie's shorts keep getting shorter, the average age of tour Lolitas is decreasing, and the LPGA frankly has no answer...How do you "sell" underaged girls to an adult viewership? You can't do a Jan Stephenson-1980s-sexiness thing, nor can you take a "stay in school" tack, as most of them don't.

07/12/06 @ 22:15

Comment from: canince lover [Visitor]

Simple. Swallow some pride. Stop bashing Wie and give more exemptions for now. Down the road, allow more than 2 non-LPGA tournaments for its members. In the end, the LPGA will butt heads with tournament organizers who are carrying all the burdens without the benefits of Wie. The LPGA has done all it can to ridicule and hinder Michelle Wie's progress. Not a good way to build loyalty or goodwill from the Wie folks. No wonder Michelle doesn't feel any loyalty to the LPGA. The LPGA needs Wie more than Wie needs it. She seems to have viable alternatives playing in other tours. I find it funny that when other tours are salivating to have Wie playing, the inept LPGA is playing the chickens game with Wie. My last comment on this thread.

07/12/06 @ 22:51

Comment from: Jenny [Visitor]

If she does well on the PGA tour and makes a few cuts, I won't be surprised if Wie takes her game to the PGA and bypasses the LPGA. At least she doesn't have to put up with bitchiness,envy and jealousy from the likes of Pressel and swipes by a non gracious classless winner like Lincicome or silly comments from Se Ri Pak of "she wants to win" as reason for her silence in match play (And you don't want to win Se Ri?)

Whatever these girls say about Michelle backfires anyway.They come off looking bad.

07/13/06 @ 00:02

Comment from: putt4par [Visitor]

I have a clue for those ladies on the LPGA.
Opinions are like aZZholes, everybody has one. Some are full of sh*t, others have run out of sh*t and the rest don't give a sh*t!
I'd say where the LPGA and it's silliness are concerned, I would have to be like the last opinion.

MW is going to go her own way. She is one very stubborn young lady. I think the LPGA will end up looking very foolish in a couple of years time if not sooner.

If they haven't already offered her a card, they will soon and I'm betting she tells them very nicely to take a hike.

07/13/06 @ 00:20

Comment from: Dave Marrandette [Visitor]

At the beginning of the year in our February 2006 Eye On Golf newsletter we stated that this was the year for the LPGA - more twists and turns in the storyline than a King novel. Completely dwarfing the PGA Tour. Never more true. But wait, the LPGA Tour commish, a supposed marketing wiz, has internal problems and can't get focused on the ladies themselves. It appears she's right on the edge of having the whole thing blow up in her face.

07/13/06 @ 08:52

Comment from: Stacy [Visitor]

95 percent of amateur golfers can't even shoot in the 80's. These LPGA golfers dip into the 60's regularly. Their short games are precise, unlike the typical amateur and their putting usually leaves them within a "gimmie".

Heck, the women on my local publinks usually can't break 90 and certainly can't hit a 7-iron 160 yards.

07/13/06 @ 11:00

Comment from: tasha [Visitor]

There's a good article in the San Francisco Chronicle http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/07/13/SPGKNJU2E01.DTL . Give Michelle time and she will do what she will do. Basically she is developing her own path however tough or easy, as she is a very determined teen ager and whatever people have to say, she just keeps going.

The bitchy comments from the LPGA players including Se Ri Pak are shallow and basically stupid (considering the kind of scrutiny and struggles, Se Ri has gone through, she should know better--she just lost to a 16 year old and it probably hurt her pride more than anything else).

The ladies should just focus on what they need to do just like Michelle is focused on what she needs to do. I don't hear her making any disparaging remarks about her fellow competitors.

Everybody keeps talking about her endorsement contracts, but even with the large sponsorships. she is working even harder and she is becoming better and better. If this whole thing is about envy with regards to Michelle's endorsements then the rest of the players should get better agents. I suspect, with Michelle, this is about becoming the best player so she can consistently play well on whatever tour she can and win wherever she can. Just give her time.

07/13/06 @ 17:39

Comment from: Golf Goddess [Visitor]

Yesterday, while getting my hair highlighted, my straight male hairdresser--who also happens to be a scratch golfer--said he watches the LPGA on TV all the time, but NOT the PGA.

"Why on earth?", I asked from under a headful of aluminum foil.

"Because I can see their swings and learn something," he explained. "The guys swing so fast, whenever TV announcers describe a man's swing, I wonder how they can even SEE their hands."

In the interest of full disclosure, it must also be said he thinks the players are getting cuter.

07/15/06 @ 17:02

Comment feed for this post