|
| A Look Back: Nov. 21 1952: NBC golf analyst and former PGA Tour member Gary Koch is born in Baton Rouge, La. 1965: Al Besselink wins the Caracas Open. 1973: PGA Tour member Garrett Willis is born in Charlotte, N.C. |
About
This E-Mail How
to Advertise |
Events
At the GOLF
20/20: Vision for the Future conference that ended Saturday,
attendees decided to developspecific business plans in at least two areas
over the next three months; expand the 20/20 Executive Board to bring
in more industry representation; and establish a new 20/20 Task Force
to focus on diversity.
For
more...
Architecture
The American
Society of Golf Course Architects Foundation announces an all-star Golf
Architecture Forum at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando on March
10-12, featuring golf and discussion with Arnold Palmer and prominent
ASGCA architects.
For
more...
Sponsorship
Pepto-Bismol, America's well-known stomach remedy, announces
a marketing partnership with PGA Championship winner Rich Beem.
As part of the agreement, Beem will support Pepto-Bismol with public appearances
at tournaments and various media appearances.
For
more...
Players
Grace Park, a winner in each of her first three years
on the LPGA Tour, signs a management agreement with Gaylord Sports
Management.
For
more...
Tournaments
The Ladies' Golf Union confirms that Weetabix will support the Weetabix
Challenge for a further three years starting in 2003. The Weetabix
Challenge is an annual match, played in the early part of the season,
between players from LGU and the Ladies' European Tour.
For
more...
Briefly
The Gary Player-designed Guavaberry Golf and Country Club in Juan Dolio,
Dominican Republic chooses Shot Selector to provide laser
measuring and irrigation replacement caps for their Rain Bird system.
Shot Selector also provided Guavaberry with tee signs, in-ground yardage
markers, driving range markers and scorecards. ...
Connecticut-based LuckyGolfer, Inc., debuts web-based, console-quality, skill-based golf games with guaranteed cash payouts for one out of every 10 players. LuckyGolfer premiers as the first of the company's "Take 5 Entertainment" options available on the Internet. ...
The Richard R. Dostie New Home Collection unveils two new lines of single-family homes in Palencia, a 1,450-acre master planned community in northern St. Johns County, Fla. The homes will be built in The Village Center adjacent to the community's clubhouse and multi-sport recreation complex. ...
Tee Time Magazine, The New England Women's Golf Magazine, celebrates its ninth year of publishing in 2003. LPGA Teaching Professionals such as Pat Lange, Betty Hicks, Annette Thompson, Joyce Kazmierski, Jane Frost, Sandra Palmer, Penny Zavachias, Marlene Floyd, Deb Vangello, along with many others, have contributed over the past eight years.
|
Reader's
Forum Recent legislation proposed by the NCAA could lead to the elimination of the fall collegiate golf season and would limit the playing and practice time of NCAA student-athletes in every sport, including out-of-season weight training and conditioning, summer weight training and conditioning and foreign tours. The reasoning for this is that athletes need to limit their time on the field of play in order to study and enjoy a collegiate social life. But traditionally, collegiate golfers maintain among the highest grade-point averages and graduation rates on campus. Should golf be treated differently from other collegiate sports? Let us know your opinions by sending your responses to info@gpagolf.com with the subject line RE: College. Also include your first initial and last name, along with your city and state or country. |
In
Their Own Words
LPGA
Tour Commissioner Ty Votaw
LPGA Tour Commissioner Ty Votaw delivered his State of the Tour address Wednesday at the season-ending ADT Championship.
As we conclude our 2002 season, I'm very pleased to be here today to give you an update on the overall state of the LPGA. Not surprisingly, I am very bullish on the LPGA, and also, not surprisingly I will not hesitate to point out some of the specific highlights and reasons why I believe the LPGA is so well positioned in today's sports entertainment marketplace, perhaps stronger than ever in our organization's 52-year history.
I'm going to share with you a number of things today. One, I will share with you the majority of the 2003 schedule through October 1 of 2003. I'm going to give you an update on how we are tracking against the new business goals that we set that came out of our first ever Players Summit in March, and the first year of our five-year business plan. And lastly, before we open it up for questions and answers, I will make a few remarks about the debate that has gone on over last few months over Augusta National.
In 2002, I think the only thing that can be said about that is that it has been an incredible year. I would first like to reflect on that incredible year and what I believe what has made it such an extraordinary year for the LPGA, for our players and for our fans and certainly our fans. And any discussion about 2002 cannot go on without first talking about Annika Sorenstam, who has once again given us a record-breaking season and a number of compelling story lines. With ten victories this year, she became the LPGA's first $10 million player, and with a victory this week at the ADT, she will become the first player since 1964 and the great Mickey Wright to win 11 events on the LPGA schedule. And she also may very well become the first player to cross $11 million in prize money here this week.
Her accomplishments are at times incomprehensible to not only staff of the LPGA, her fellow players and I think certainly everybody here in this room. Rightly so, the question is already being asked: Is Annika the best ever on the LPGA TOUR? While she continued her outstanding performance this year, following up on an incredible 2001 year, LPGA fans continue to enjoy the Tour's deep bench strength and breadth of talent. Se Ri Pak's success with five wins has put her into the No. 2 spot on the Money List again, while Juli Inkster continued to amaze us with her U.S. Women's Open performance, as well as in the Solheim Cup, helping to lead us to a victory at Interlachen is another example of how great this year has been for women's golf.
And certainly Karrie Webb's victory at the Weetabix Women's Open once again demonstrated her fine play, and as you know she is the defending champion in this year's event. Any year when you can have arguably the four best players win your major championships is a year when the depth and breadth of talent on the LPGA is in evidence.
While the past few seasons unquestionably marked the dominance of what you have called the LPGA's big three, Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak and Karrie Webb, I believe 2002 also marked the emergence of a number of several new LPGA stars: 22-year-old Beth Bauer has already clinched the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award for 2002 and is one of promising stars of the LPGA TOUR. Beth is also the only rookie of this year's rookie class to qualify for this week's ADT Championship, further demonstrating how great a young talent she is.