Thinking Globally About Women's Golf in 2010

Over at Mostly Harmless and Hound Dog's place, I'm trying to get the US golfy media and golfoblogosphere to look at women's golf from a global perspective, first by putting together all we know right now about the major women's tours' 2010 schedules and then thinking about that list from the perspective of a player with dual membership on any two of those tours. 

What kind of schedule are those with dual LPGA-JLPGA membership likely to put together in 2010?  How about dual LPGA-LET members?  Or KLPGA-LET members?

The last question is hard to answer right now, as the KLPGA hasn't yet finalized its 2010 schedule (even though it's already 2010 for them in China this week).  But right now, it's looking like the JLPGA will have 35 individual events, the LET 26, the LPGA 24, and the KLPGA 20 or more.  All those numbers are rough, as each announced schedule has some TBAs, TBDs, and TBCs (seriously) in them.  Still, we may start seeing some dual-membership players begin treating the LPGA as their "other" tour in 2010 for the first time.  Some may choose to play fewer than 15 LPGA events so as to maximize their opportunities to stay in Europe or Japan for extended lengths of time and build some momentum heading into major events on the LET or JLPGA.  And we may see more doing that in 2011 if the LPGA schedule for the following season doesn't start growing - particularly in the U.S. - and fast. 

The LPGA is approaching a crossroads very quickly.  Michael Whan is going to have to think very hard about how the tour ought to capitalize on globalization.  Of course the LPGA needs more U.S. events.  And they would do well to keep expanding into the Americas.  But they are in serious danger of getting left behind in the Asian Pacific and Indian Ocean basin by the LET and potentially even the JLPGA. 

I think it's high time for the LPGA to reach out to the JLPGA, KLPGA, and LET and look to jointly-sponsor events and coordinate schedules so that the best women golfers on the planet don't have to choose between tours.  Not by creating more limited-field, no-cut tournaments, but by working together to make more full-field tournaments with cuts available to a wider range of female professional golfers around the world.  With women's golf huge in Japan and Korea, growing in China and Europe, and poised for a comeback in the U.S., it's in the top tours' best interests to work together to promote women's golf and continue growing the game, particularly in the run-up to the first golfing Olympics of the decade/century/millennium in Rio.