Search for Next LPGA Tour Commissioner Will Make California Recall Look Sane

Yesterday, Golf World confirmed what we have been saying here - courtesy of Life on Tour's Larry - for over a week now: Carolyn Bivens is out as LPGA Tour Commissioner.  As Dave Seanor first noted and then Fanhouse's Greg Couch basically rewrote, the LPGA Tour's problems don't end (but may well start) with the Commish.

The next part of this saga, though, is going to be equally as painful as the awkward timing of the player mutiny that has led to Bivens' demise.

Now, with a job description has already been posted, every LPGA Tour player who has ever thought that they could be the next LPGA Tour Comissioner are either coming out and declaring their candidacy, or being nominated by folks in the media.

I'm partially guilty of this.  I threw out that I would think Juli Inkster could be the next LPGA Tour Commissioner.  Some people had been saying Dottie Pepper.  Alan Shipnuck went on record today to say that Judy Rankin could be next.  The aforementioned Greg Couch likes the idea of Nancy Lopez as the "face of the tour." Former sexpot Jan Stephenson has declared herself ready for the post.

If you thought the thousands of candidates that ran in the primary after former California governor Gray Davis' recall was obscene, then you may be in for a repeat performance.  The plus side of this is that a porn star, a little person child star, and a couple thousand other whackos won't be applying for the job.  And, even better, the next LPGA Tour Commissioner will not be determined by a public election.

But, what if it was?  Though the next Commissioner has to be someone with business sense, networking skills, and the like, it is part of the duty of the Board of Directors to find a Commissioner that will resonate with fans.  That would eliminate Jenna Jameson from contention, but make a former LPGA player into a very viable candidate.

Either way, it seems like there may be a whirlwind of speculation about the next LPGA Tour Commissioner that will quickly dwarf the dismissal of the current one.  And, hopefully, the LPGA Tour will not wind up with their version of the Guvanator.