When Michael Whan accepted the job as LPGA Tour Commissioner in 2010, he had a tough task in front of him. The women’s tour was down to only 23 events, attendance was poor and there was very little television exposure. With no exposure, deep-pocket sponsors were unwilling to provide the funding necessary for adequate prize money, or to buy more television time.
The tour, that had begun due to the efforts of 13 ladies in 1950, was dying and it was up to him to save it.
The late Carol Mann, an LPGA legend, told me of her first meeting with the newly-hired commissioner,
“In that first meeting with the tour members, he came in, took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, asked questions and said let’s get to work. He made a huge impression.”
Whan is no stranger to work and has a passion for golf. His early jobs included mowing greens and caddying at a local course in Naperville, Illinois. He was a walk-on quarterback prospect at Miami University in Ohio and quickly rose through the ranks in several corporate assignments.
After graduation from Miami University in 1987, he began his career with Procter & Gamble. In a short seven years, he rose to the position of Director of Marketing for the Oral Care Division.
He accepted a position with Wilson Sporting Goods serving as Vice-President and General Manager, before joining TaylorMade as Vice-President of Marketing in 1995.
When the LPGA came calling in 2010, he was experienced in turning around struggling businesses and ready to lead the LPGA back to greener pastures.
The LPGA struggled with several key issues. First, women athletes did not appeal to a broad audience. With a high percentage of events and players from Asia, Americans did not identify with the players.
Whan and his staff embraced these negatives and quickly turned them into positives. Under his leadership the LPGA Tour was touted as a ‘World Tour,’ extolling the benefits for young women to compete around the globe.
Asian players were encouraged to learn English and players were expected to interact with fans on social media, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The players’ twitter handles were even put on the caddie’s backs during events.
Most importantly, Whan’s marketing background taught him that fan engagement by the players would lead to a more ‘Fan Friendly’ experience. He expected the players to reach out, sign autographs, pose for pictures and interact with fans, especially young girls, who would be future fans and players.
Today LPGA Tour players are the most approachable athletes on the planet and fans who attend tour events always come away impressed with the accessibility of the players.
The Solheim Cup started before Whan’s tenure, but under his leadership it has become one of the largest and most anticipated sporting events in the world. Under his leadership the biennial UL International Crown was created. It pits four-man teams from the top eight countries in the world in match play team competition.
The UL International Crown, along with golf being admitted into the Olympics in 2016, they have greatly stimulated the interest in women’s golf in other countries around the world.
Along with these new opportunities for LPGA members, the LPGA Founders Cup, which honors the legacy of the tour’s original 13 founders, was developed under Whan’s leadership. The Race to the CME Globe, a season-long points race, debuted in 2014 and created an additional $1 million prize for the overall points leader, plus The Evian Championship has become the fifth major giving women’s golf yet another big stage on which to shine.
Last fall the LPGA announced the 2020 LPGA Tour schedule would include, 33 events with a total purse of over $70 million and would compete on 11 continents. Seven events would be aired on network television, broadcast to 225 countries, giving the tour the most hours of network televised action in tour history. In addition, the 2020 Olympics and the UL International Crown would bring even more attention to women’s golf.
It is a huge disappointment that many of those events are now lost for this year, but hopefully the tour will return to normal in 2021.
Because the LPGA Tour plays several events in Asia at the beginning of the year, Whan was very much aware of what was happening in China by January. He was the first sports administrator to react to the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing the need to, first and foremost, keep the players safe, the LPGA reluctantly cancelled three tournaments scheduled in Thailand, Singapore and China.
(insert Whan interview https://youtu.be/xxF-k-1RoVw) 
In an interview with Back 9 Report, Commissioner Whan talked about plans to restart the tour June 14 in Arkansas for the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, to be followed by the KPMG PGA Championship. Those events have since been forced to be rescheduled and the tour now intends to begin in July at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. They will not end the season until the CME Globe Championship on December 20.
Whan said,
“I have already told the players, be prepared to play, we will have tournaments scheduled for every week through to December 20.”
With the unprecedented revival of the LPGA Tour since Whan assumed command and his leadership, the LPGA Tour is as strong as it has ever been. Tournaments are strategically hosted in mid-markets that are golf starved. Sponsors understand the value of investing in women’s golf and the tour has helped stimulate the rapidly expanding influence of women in the golf industry.
The players can be proud of the LPGA that has grown from being on life support in 2010, to become the vibrant and profitable sports league it has become today.
LPGA Tour Commissioner, Michael Whan has been driving the bus and under his leadership the tour should continue to grow long after COVID-19 becomes a bad memory.
