LPGA Realigns Organization; Chris Higgs is Out

Jon Show has the news from a LPGA Tour news release about organizational realignment.  You know when words like those are combined together that some bad things are happening.

Chris Higgs, the Chief Operating Officer (and cheerleader for the LPGA in bad and good times), is out.  That leaves Deputy Commish Libby Galloway as the only exec to predate Bivens.  Bill Susteka, Chief Marketing Officer, will have a new role that will be determined soon.

It's not necessarily all bad, though.  The LPGA Tour created three new divisions and promoted some internal people to head these new groups.

After the jump, we'll walk you through those changes and, in my opinion, upgrades.

The new groups are:

New Business Development & Worldwide Sales, which previously fell under marketing. Duramed Futures Tour CEO Zayra Calderon will lead that unit and all sales employees will report to her. “Sales is the top issue,” said Bivens. “We must do a better job and have a key business unit that focuses exclusively on sales and business development. That’s what the LPGA has not had before.”

LPGA Tournament & Schedule Development that will be led by two individuals. Solheim Cup Exec Dir Kelly Hyne was promoted to the new position of VP/LPGA Properties and will manage the tour’s growing tournament assets, including the Solheim Cup, the former ADT Championship and, starting in 2010, the LPGA Championship. VP/Tournament Business Affairs Mike Nichols was promoted to the new post of VP/LPGA Sanctioned Events and will oversee all tournaments not owned by the LPGA.

Tournament Operations and Player Services, will focus on all aspects of daily tournament operations and be led by Jane Geddes, who was promoted from VP/Competition to Senior VP/Tournament Operations & Player Services.

Interesting decisions here to realign this way.  I'm no management genius, so I won't try to analyze them much except to question a few things.

1. Why has the LPGA Tour never had a unique business development unit?  That's a function very different from marketing.  This is a good move from Bivens, without question.
2. The Tournament unit, though, confuses me a bit.  Does the new role for Kelly Hyne indicate that the LPGA Tour will be expanding its ownership portfolio to somewhat match the ownership group called the Tournament Owners Association?

I may have to check in with the LPGA Tour on this one.