The Primary Cut’s 2008 LPGA Preview

Tenth installment of The Primary Cut – weekly insights from the world of golf player management and other golf-related industry and player news.

1. The State of the LPGA Has Never Been Better

Two relatively recent articles within the past year (USA Today and BusinessWeek) relate to the current state of the now 59-year old LPGA Tour and its newfound, energetic vision engineered by commissioner Carolyn Bivens, who took control in late 2005 (becoming the first woman to hold the job) and, like any effective leader, already has her share of enemies and friends. “I didn’t take the job to be voted Miss Congeniality,” she once mused. Critics aside, Bivens doesn’t have to be liked to be successful. But she does have to command respect. Just ask PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, whose two biggest obstacles often are also his Tour’s biggest stars (Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson), but who brokers sit downs with the pair (individually, of course) in order to facilitate his agenda.

Some highlights from both pieces include:

• The Tour Bivens inherited in 2005 was in a sorry-state. Since 2001, the number of tournaments had shrunk from 40 to 35, and interest among TV networks was so limited that the LPGA not only didn’t receive rights fees but had to buy air time out of its own pocket. The Tour thus couldn’t even afford to provide health care or retirement plans to all of its players.
• Upon gaining control, Bivens quickly reshaped the Tour, replacing a slew of exiting staffers with a bevy of marketers and intellectual-property lawyers who could help strike better deals with sponsors, licensees, and networks. She also gradually hiked the sanctioning [service] fees charged to the tournament owners to $100,000 across a three-year period, from the $10-15,000 or so many had paid (a fee that wasn’t enough to cover the cost of setting up the course and providing weekend child care for players). While this naturally triggered a backlash among tournament operators, many players backed Bivens, and now you’ll be hard-pressed to find a non-biased observer who wouldn’t agree with the way Bivens handled the matter. Finally, Bivens began negotiating with new sponsors who could help boost purses, which were then an average of $1.4 million, about a quarter of those on the PGA Tour.
• Since her arrival, seven members of her senior staff have resigned or been fired, including three top executives who quit the very same day Bivens started. Her relationship with the press has been rocky at best. To protect the LPGA’s content, Bivens initially distributed press credentials that tried to limit the use of photos by media organizations. Some refused to sign up. One result: the 2006 Fields Open in Hawaii was virtually blacked out by the media. The differences have since been ironed out somewhat, but Bivens hasn’t fully budged: she says she’s standing firm to protect how her players and the LPGA are marketed.
• Of the top 10 women on the 2007 LPGA money list (see below), only one is older than 27; the remaining nine have an average age of 22. As described by USA Today, “today’s talent includes a 22-year-old blond, blue-eyed beauty who just won her second title (Brittany Lincicome); a young Mexican (Lorena Ochoa) who has replaced Annika Sorenstam as the world’s number-one player; a teen phenom, now 21, with a penchant for pink (Paula Creamer); a Japanese rock star trailed by a swarm of photographers (Ai Miyazato); and a swimsuit-calendar model with her own reality-TV show (Natalie Gulbis). And let’s not forget Michelle Wie, that stylish, 6-ft. Hawaiian palm, currently sidelined with a wrist injury, whose $20 million endorsement contracts rival those of tennis queen Maria Sharapova, even though she’s spent more time trying to qualify (unsuccessfully) for men’s tourneys. ” These women aren’t afraid to exploit their sexuality a little bit,” says Rob McNamara, golf professional at Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, Va. “But these pinup girls can play championship-level golf, and that’s the key.”
• Bivens, 54, is a former advertising executive at USA Today and president of Initiative Media North America, a press service agency, and is poised to make “the most of her coterie of cuties.” She’s promoting a marketing campaign with the tagline “These girls rock” and signed on a personal branding coach, Wendy Newman, who helps players hone their image. “We don’t want to cookie-cutter-stamp anyone,” says Bivens. “Part of this is to play up their differences.”
• While the numbers still pale in comparison with men’s golf, attendance at LPGA events rose 5% in 2006, and it’s up 10% since 2001. Daily average television viewership for LPGA tournaments broadcast on cable (not including the Golf Channel) reached 417,000 households in 2006, up 59% from 2005, while network viewership last year rose 14%, to 1.7 million households. “The numbers are small, but the percentages are large,” says Bivens. Women’s golf is one of the few sports that can boast double-digit television growth in the U.S. over the past two years. And as of 2007, tournament purses had risen 22%, thanks in part to the influx of deep-pocketed sponsors.
• Bivens has upgraded tournament courses and involved the LPGA in the television production of events. In addition to the Solheim Cup, a team competition in which top Europeans take on top Americans, the LPGA owns and operates the year-end ADT Championship. According to USA Today, “there it can control the fan experience, like having more player interaction, and set broadcast agendas with a focus on player vignettes. By running tournaments, as opposed to licensing them, the LPGA earns money from ticket sales, food and merchandise. The plan is still a long iron from success. LPGA tournaments have to buy network time, sell their own ads and cover production costs. But the LPGA underwrites half those expenses for ESPN and the Golf Channel, ensuring that all tournaments are televised.”

2007 LPGA MONEY LIST (NAME/’07 EARNINGS/AGE/COUNTRY/AGENT AND FIRM)
————————————————————————————————————————
1. Lorena Ochoa ($4,364,994) – 26 years old, Mexico, Alejandro Ochoa, Ochoa Sports Management
2. Suzann Pettersen ($1,802,400) -26, Norway, Vicky Cuming, IMG London
3. Paula Creamer ($1,384,798) -21, U.S., Jay Burton, IMG
4. Mi Hyun Kim ($1,273,848) -20, South Korea, Not formally represented in 2007
5. Seon Hwa Lee ($1,100,198) -21, South Korea, J.S. Kang, Sterling Sports Management
6. Cristie Kerr ($1,098,921) -30, U.S., Erik Stevens (no agency affiliation)
7. Jeong Jang ($1,038,598) -27, South Korea, J.S. Kang, Sterling Sports Management
8. Angela Park ($983,922) -19, Brazil, Not formally represented in 2007
9. Morgan Pressel ($972,452) -19, U.S., Chris Armstrong, IMG
10. Jee Young Lee ($966,256) -21, South Korea, Not formally represented in 2007
11. Maria Hjorth ($949,055) -34, Sweden, Chris Murray, Imani Sports
12. Natalie Gulbis ($886,404) -24, U.S., Giff Breed, Octagon
13. Brittany Lincicome ($871,384) -22, U.S., Jeff Chilcoat, Sterling Sports Management
14. Stacy Prammanasudh ($863,045) -28, U.S., Darrell James, James Management Group
15. Nicole Castrale ($854,292) -28, U.S., Not formally represented in 2007
16. Se Ri Pak ($820,129) -30, South Korea, Michael Yim, IMG
17. Ai Miyazato ($788,477) -22, Japan, Takumi Zaoya, Turner Comm. Intl.
18. Juli Inkster ($736,521) -47, U.S., Alissa Super, SFX
19. Angela Stanford ($713,880) -30, U.S., Alissa Super, SFX
20. Sarah Lee ($713,084) -28, South Korea, Jay Burton, IMG
21. Laura Davies ($692,010) -44, England, Tony Davies (no agency affiliation)
22. Karrie Webb ($630,030) -32, Australia, Alex Baldwin, Fenway Sports Group
23. Christina Kim ($626,075) -23, U.S., Leela Narang, Octagon
24. Sherri Steinhauer ($574,270) -44, U.S., Not formally represented in 2007
25. Annika Sorenstam ($532,718) -37, Sweden, Mark Steinberg, IMG
(*Please email me regarding any corrections/omissions relating to the list)

2. The LPGA: Five Things To Watch For in 2008

Lorena Ochoa Will Finally Be Recognized As The Most Dominant Talent In (men and women’s) Golf.

For whatever reason, Ochoa has not been getting the same kind of publicity and praise that Annika did when she emerged as the LPGA’s dominant force. But that will change in 2008. Ochoa won eight times in 2007, and finally silenced critics who questioned her major-winning abilities when she won the Ricoh Women’s British Open. And no one can question her consistency: Ochoa finished in the Top 10 a mind-boggling 21 out of 25 starts in ’07.

Suzann Petterson Will Validate Her Breakthrough Year And Solidify Herself As World #2.

Ochoa’s fiercest competition for the top spot in the women’s Rolex rankings (for world number-one) will not be Webb (#2), Sorenstam (#3) or Kerr (#5). It will be the fast-charging, current number-four Norweigan Suzann Petterson. In just her first year working with a new coaching team that included Lynn Marriott, Pia Nilsson and Gary Gilchrist, Petterson won five times, including a major. Petterson’s aggressive style does not lend itself to the kind of Tiger-like consistency that Ochoa exhibits, but combined with her raw-talent, it will allow her to leave yesterday’s news (Webb and Sorenstam) in the proverbial world rankings dust.

Young Americans Will Continue To Win and Will Continue To Drive Up Domestic Television Ratings.

Twenty-somethings (or in some cases, not even!) Morgan Pressel, Creamer, Gulbis, Lincicome, Meaghan Francella and Nicole Castrale all won in 2007, and years from now will be duly credited by golf historians with saving women’s golf (And Michelle Wie will eventually be added to the list). The proof is already evident. Under Commissioner Bivens’ watch, average viewership of the LPGA has risen since 2005 by 14% on network TV, and by 47% on cable. This has already happened in the Asian markets, where the LPGA has already renegotiated its television licensing rights (up 300%!) thanks to the popularity of young Asian stars such as Jee Young Lee, Ji-Ai Shin, Ai Miyazato, and a plethora of others. Today, Asia is the fastest-growing sector in TV, with women’s golf in Japan garnering double the ratings of the men. That’s one reason Honda is the sponsor of the LPGA’s new Thailand tournament.

Sorenstam, Once The Face Of Women’s Golf, Will Not Let Go Of Her Crown Without A Fight.

Sorenstam’s victory last weekend in the Dubai Ladies Masters got the 37-year old Swede off the 2007 schnide, so to speak, preventing her first winless season since 1993. But an even bigger event takes place this weekend, as Annika and Mike McGee will announce their engagement at a Saturday night party in Orlando. But according to GolfWorld’s Ron Sirak, “the fact they have set their wedding date for April 2009 means this and this alone: Sorenstam’s mission in 2008 is to regain her position as No. 1 in the women’s game.” In all fairness to Sorenstam, her relative drop off the radar can be at least partially attributed to a ruptured disk in her neck that put her out of commission for over two months. But Sorenstam is now healthy and physically primed to take one last shot at glory by knocking off Ochoa. And given her engagement, she may be emotionally in tune with her life as well, which is equally as important for on-course success.

Contract Endorsements For Top-Flight LPGA Players Will Accelerate At A Rate Previously Unthinkable.

And if they don’t, then someone’s not doing his or her job right. According to Jeff Chilcoat, President of the Columbus, OH-based Sterling Sports Management , who represents the 22-year old phenom Lincicome, and whose partner and Sterling Vice-President J.S. Kang represents South Koreans Seon Hwa Lee (the 2006 LPGA rookie of the year) and Jeong Jang (who finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the Tour’s ’07 money list), the dramatic explosion and increased popularity of the game in Asia has translated directly not only into a massive rise in television ratings, but also a naturally correlating rise in the number of both domestic companies, multinationals and Asian-based firms that are seeking to endorse LPGA stars. And while Asian companies likely prefer to work with Asian players, their entrance into the endorsement pool has only driven up what players all around the world can legitimately command in their marketing and other endorsement contracts, according to Chilcoat.

Chilcoat is excited about the Tour’s prospects for the next decade, and he should be: Lincicome (inset) is already one of the most marketable players on Tour and, in a nutshull, represents the Tour’s future growth potential. But he also realizes that players like Lincicome are just individual pieces of a greater puzzle. Specifically, if the LPGA’s newfound success is to last and moreover flourish, there must be a number of rising stars and rivalries which create a lasting impression on fans, and bring new fans into the game. This concept should sound similar. “What’s going on [in women’s golf] is eerily similar to when women’s tennis blew up a decade ago,” explains John Mascatello, president of SFX Golf, who pointed out that after years of a few players dominating in women’s tennis, the arrival of the Williams sisters spawned a ‘Tiger Woods effect, heightening global competition.’

It also lead to fatter purses and increased marketing and endorsement activities for all of its stars, even down through, theoretically, middle of the road players (depending on how much ‘trickle down’ you envision). Expect the same effect from both the “pin-up girls” and the Asian influx on the LPGA Tour in the years to come.