Havre de Grace, Md. – Trying to make a mark on a sports calendar filled with exciting season-ending events such as the Final Four and the World Series, the LPGA announced Tuesday a new format to drum up interest for its final tournament of the year.
Beginning in 2006, the tour will hold “The LPGA Playoffs at the ADT” with the winner getting $1 million, nearly double the largest payout in women’s golf.
“We are excited about elevating the entire LPGA season and bringing the drama and excitement to the season’s conclusion,” LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw said at a news conference.
Under the new format, LPGA events will be part of a “regular season” with the schedule divided into halves. Over the course of the year players will accumulate points; some events, such as major championships, will carry more weight, with the winners automatically qualifying for the finale. In a select number of limited-field events and big-money tournaments that are regarded as just a notch below the majors, perhaps the Michelob Ultra Open, for example, the winner also will automatically qualify.
At the end of the season, the top 30 point-getters and two wild-card entrants will make the playoffs, not the top 30 players on the money list. Players will be eliminated over the first three days of the stroke-play tournament. On the final day, those left will play 18 holes for a $1 million check.
There are a number of details to be worked out, such as the criteria for the two wild-card selections, how many players will be eliminated after each round, and the number of players who will compete on the final day.
The LPGA made its rollout announcement anyway because it was so excited about the idea’s potential. Asked if the organization consulted with anyone else in golf about the idea, Votaw said no.
“We thought it was so good they would take it,” he said.
However, the commissioner admits, “there’s been no small amount of debate” about the endeavor, adding, “I’m sure that debate will continue.”
A number of players here for the second major of the year, the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, weren’t aware of the change. Some expressed surprise; others chose to withhold judgment until they knew more details.
“It’s a very interesting concept,” Annika Sorenstam said Tuesday. “It’s something everyone’s talking about. Hopefully it will be something good.”
According to Heather Daly-Donofrio, an LPGA player and president of the LPGA Tour Executive Committee, such attempts, even if they don’t succeed, are essential for a sport trying to attract new fans.
“Change may be hard for players to accept, but we can’t be afraid to try to change,” she said. “We have to be able to compete and do things to elevate our events. Look at this week – we’re here for a major championship, but the (PGA Tour’s) Booz-Allen (Classic) is going on right down the street (in suburban Washington).
“I knew this was the right thing to do when I saw someone put up a $1 million prize. They wouldn’t do that unless the idea was legit. And if some players aren’t excited now, they will be. I asked them, ‘If the PGA Tour was doing this, would you watch?’ And they all said of course they would.”
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
