LPGA’s Votaw Stays the Course

Ty Votaw is right about a lot of things, but especially this: The LPGA Tour is stronger than ever. When 25 of the 31 official events have prize money of at least $1million and there were only 12 two years ago, those are good numbers. So is the average tournament purse that is now $1.19 million.

The LPGA commissioner is only 39 and looks even younger, but chances are he’s going to age a lot faster than he would prefer in the next five years, which is the length of his ambitious five-year strategic plan for the 52-year-old LPGA.

Basically, the plan works if the LPGA improves its niche in the sports entertainment arena, not as “the gender alternative” to the PGA Tour, as Votaw said.

He had a telling response when asked if the PGA Tour shared the same concerns.

Said Votaw: “I would think [Tim] Finchem would have some of the same issues that I’m addressing if Tiger Woods was not on the tour.”

There are numerous facets to the plan that would make the LPGA more “fan friendly.” One of them is to call for the top 90 players to play every event on the tour at least once every four years. Votaw isn’t sure what the penalty would be for noncompliance, but he said he has four years to work it out.

Votaw emphasized that the LPGA’s competition is with every entity that looks for the entertainment dollar. He says a good way to increase the LPGA’s portion of that dollar is through research.

“What are the reasons why people are watching us and what can we do better?” he said. “And why are people not watching us?”

Naturally, television represents a major part of the strategic plan and Votaw wants to increase viewership 10% each year of the five-year plan. He admitted that broadcast viewership was flat last year over 2000, but he said that cable telecasts on ESPN were up 28% overall.

Speaking of television, nine hours of the Kraft Nabisco Championship are being broadcast this week, more than ever, but there is a catch: Because ABC is carrying the Shell Houston Open, only one hour will be on ABC (as opposed to three hours last year) and the other eight hours on cable.

It just goes to show what kind of unusual roadblocks the LPGA faces in its progressive plan. It finally sheds its conflicting dates with the Players Championship and it still finds its television schedule dictated by what the PGA Tour is doing. Not only that, but it ran into its own broadcast partner, ABC.

It’s not easy out there, no matter how good the product is, and the LPGA has never been better. As Votaw said, it’s not enough just to be a great golfer anymore.

“That won’t move the needle in terms of fan interest,” he said.

And five years from now, the strategic plan would prove itself correct. Votaw says it’s the only way to go.

“This is not rocket science,” he said.

It might be easier if it were.

In This Corner

News item: Nick Faldo, Nancy Lopez and Peter Jacobsen sign up to do shows on the Golf Channel.

Reaction: Better idea--get them to do “Celebrity Boxing II.”

No, Thank You

Does anyone find it ironic that Faldo is now officially a member of the media? This is a turn of events that is borderline hysterical because Faldo has enjoyed a long-running feud with the media. In his victory speech after winning the 1990 British Open, Faldo thanked the media “from the heart of my bottom.”

This Just In

The Golf Course Superintendents Assn. of America polled nearly 800 members on the course changes at Augusta National. The results: 41% said moving the tees back would have the greatest impact, 25% said adding more trees would most seriously impact play and 12% said moving the tees laterally would be the most significant change.

Tiger Update

News item: Woods finishes last at the Players Championship in putting, averaging 33.25 a round and 36 on Sunday.

Reaction: Bogus statistic. Woods putted more because he led the field (tied with Bob Estes) for most greens in regulation, 77.8%.

Monty Update

Colin Montgomerie, who vowed not to play in the U.S. again because of heckling and then changed his mind, had only two minor incidents at the Players Championship. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s pretty low on the MontyMeter.

At the 17th on Saturday, one heckler yelled, “Doubtfire, Mrs. Doubtfire,” when Montgomerie walked past.

And at the 18th, another spectator shouted at the Scotsman, “Hey, Monty, you’ve got no majors, you’re a loser, go back to your own country.”

Two security guards confronted the second heckler, who said no more.

Montgomerie would not answer anything except golf questions afterward.

Equipment News

By the way, it was a big week for TaylorMade at the TPC at Sawgrass, where surprise winner Craig Perks used a TaylorMade 320 Ti driver as well as the manufacturer’s three-wood and irons.

One for the Books

How you know you’re having a really bad year: Arthur Andersen was dropped this week as Callaway’s independent auditor after one year on the job.

Unclear on the Concept

From the newspaper Scotland on Sunday, on the proposed Major Champions Tour: “Although the golf on [the tour] essentially still would be meaningless, it is a concept that has a lot going for it.”

Exactly how does that work?

Birdies, Bogeys, Pars

The Office Depot Championship’s junior clinic will be held 4-6 p.m. Tuesday at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana. Amateurs invited to play in the Office Depot are Krystal Shearer of Northridge, a sophomore at UCLA, and 15-year-old Paula Creamer of Pleasanton, a 2001 AJGA first-team All American.

The Desert Healthcare Foundation in Palm Springs changed the name of its free breast cancer screening program to the Suzanne Jackson Breast Cancer Screening Fund. The change is in memory of Suzanne Jackson, former LPGA director of operations, who died of breast cancer in 1998.

JoAnne Carner, Judy Rankin, Sophie Gustafson, Pat Hurst, Carin Koch, Michelle McGann, Nancy Scranton and Sherri Steinhauer will play in the 12th Betty Ford Invitational Monday at Morningside Country Club in Rancho Mirage. The event benefits the Betty Ford Center.