Maybe the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour Should Play Events Together (No, Not Really)
by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 10, 2009 3:51 PM EDT
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PrintOn ESPN's E:60 newsmagazine program, Anna Rawson was recently interviewed. She detailed her five point plan to save the LPGA Tour from its continued shrinking. Part of Rawson's plan was a call for golf tournaments played by the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour, staged on the same course. Rawson said they should be different tournaments, but Real Fake Sports' satirical column may make a point to make them one in the same.
Following yet another Tiger Woods win at the Bridgestone Invitational, the Field, as other golfers are collectively known, has had enough. They have decided as a group to attempt to join the LPGA.
"I don't know if we'll get in," says the Field spokesperson, "but we would prefer to join an established tour and at least compete for some tournament titles. I guess if they don't admit us, since we are males, then we can start our own Tiger free tour."
While Real Fake was trying to be funny, the idea has actually been tried.
In 2003, when Annika Sorenstam played in the Colonial and then every remotely famous female golfer also played in a men's event, Brian Kontak had seen enough.
The former Canadian Tour Order of Merit winner was having trouble holding onto his Nationwide Tour status. So he figured that he would go ahead and seriously try to qualify for the US Women's Open.
"I'm exploring the possibility. That's all I can say. But I'm dead serious about it."
Kontak says his quote was misconstrued, though I'm not certain how something like this could be taken out of context. (Perhaps we should ask Carolyn Bivens. She said that reporters blew her comments about promoting players to user Twitter during competition way out of proportion. But, that's an aside.) Even funnier is that Kontak later went on to win Golf Channel's Big Break: Mesquite to earn a berth into a PGA Tour event.
Maybe Kontak was onto something but just did not realize that it doesn't matter if a man plays in an LPGA Tour event or women play in a PGA Tour event. Nobody is beating Tiger Woods. Nobody.
Have the men and the women play a tournament at the same time. Set up the greens to run around 11 or 12 on the Stimpmeter. Make the men play from Hazeltine-land - around 7600 yards - and give the ladies a thousand yard advantage. See what happens. I would bet the results are pretty interesting. And since Tiger is unlikely to fall for such nonsense, it would work out well.
Someone other than Tiger would win, the LPGA Tour might beat the pants off of the men so demoralized from frequent Tiger attacks, and perhaps the Fall Series might find some new life.
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REALLY dumb
Huh ? “…then every remotely famous female golfer also played in a men’s event…” Say what ? A SMALL handful of women outside of Wie and Sorenstam played in men’s events, and most of those were in Asia.
Kontak wasn’t on to anything…the LPGA and USGA are specific about gender in women’s events. He was pissed about Michelle Wie making a circus out of PGA Tour events.
Perhaps you have overlooked a little thing called the Wendy’s Three Tour Challenge that goes on in November…every year since 1998. PGA Tour – Champions Tour – and LPGA Tour players going against each other from different sets of tees.
You might have also forgotten the controversy caused by Kay Cockerill when she “qualified” for the BC Open through a state PGA championship…but “won” her spot playing 70% of the course the men were playing.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that courses looks completely different from the back tees as opposed to forward tees 1000 yards shorter. If you play men vs women from different yardages, you start from the point that the women can’t play with the men equally.
Put a woman with the men – she misses the cut 100% of the time. Put a PGA / Nationwide Tour man with the LPGA women – the women lose 100% of the time.
Real Fake Sports was funny – trying to be serious about this just doesn’t work.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Haha, I wasn’t being serious – just not obvious about it. I don’t like to do satire that is really obvious. But, to answer the points you raised:
1. Yeah, like I said, every remotely famous female golfer – Karrie Webb, Annika, Wie, Se Ri, and several others like Jan Stephenson – did it.
2. My fake idea was that it would be a solo tournament, not a team competition.
3. It wasn’t Kay Cockerill – that was Suzy Whale.
4. Don’t know that your theory about men always beating women would be true. In fact, I think a number ofLPGA women could club a bunch of Gateway Tour guys. They’d stand a chance against the men. (Not a good one, but a chance.)
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 10, 2009 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Satire that can’t be understood isn’t good satire. (trust me – I got slapped around more than once with that same point getting an English Lit degree)
Ok – that’s 7, add Laura Davies and you have 8 in a reasonably modern period of time…though Jan Stephenson is a real stretch. That is hardly “every remotely famous female golfer.” The list in PGA Tour events still ends with Wie, Sorenstam, and WHALEY. Webb, Pak, and Davies were in Asia. Stephenson was in Australia.
You don’t HAVE to have a fake solo tournament idea – it has been going on once a year since 1998.
YES ! I knew Kay Cockerill didn’t sound right. Thanks.
Your fiance is behind you, isn’t she. (lol) You know good and well that there isn’t a women’s tournament that the women would win if you put a single PGA / Nationwide Tour player in the field. Even if the man is Corey Pavin. Take away the driver if you want – there are very few men on Tour who can’t hit 3-wood farther than the longest women…and all the men will be longer with the irons. You put a PGA player on a 6600 yard course and you will see 4 rounds in the mid to low 60’s.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Well, it was the most famous players at the time. Gotta remember who was big in ’03.
I think you could set up a pretty interesting 6600 yard course that would be challenging for men and women. It’d have to be kinda awkard – like 80-90 yard par 3s and stuff – but it could be done.
I will make sure that I set the titles to be really obvious next time. I can see how this would’ve been seen as serious.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 10, 2009 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Come on – you’re not going to say that lesser known players are the ones who get invited to play in men’s tournaments ?? It doesn’t matter the names – it is never serious. The best of the women are good enough to have a chance to once in a while make a cut in a Korean Tour event…but that’s about like a Hooters Tour or some other minor tour event.
Yeah – 80-90 yard par 3’s – THAT’LL get people tuning in. (lol)
It wasn’t the title. It was the switch in tone after the Real Fake Sports article. (good satire is hard to write)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Uh, gee, funny you should mention the Korean Tour ; of all the ladies who tried to play against the guys, Se Ri was the only one to make the cut against them. She even finished in the top 10 and donated her prize money to charity if I remember correctly. Jan was in a Champions Tour event, which doesn’t have a cut, but finished dead last.
Kevin
Yeah, Jan finished DFL. Se Ri finished like sixth or something.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 10, 2009 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions
You mean to tell me that you don’t tune into the par 3 contest at the Masters so you can see pros drop darts on 100 yard or less holes? They’re really thrilling. How bout 7 at Pebble Beach? There’s a hole that I played at OEG’s club in high school that was straight downhill for 90 yards. Great hole.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 10, 2009 11:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Court, I hate when Ryan does that satire thing he does.
I wish he would switch to “tongue-in-cheek” instead. Annika was a machine and the best on that tour for a decade or so. Nevertheless, every single player on either the PGA or Nationwide tour would beat her virtually every time.
I remember Suzy Whaley playing the Hartford after qualifying at a sectional PGA tournament from the Ladies tees. They have since corrected that I think. I forget how she played, but I think she only beat one or two guys…
...from the land of pleasant living, Baltimore.
by One-Eyed Golfer Guy on Aug 10, 2009 8:33 PM EDT reply actions
You’re right – they have corrected that embarrassing little loophole in the Connecticutt PGA rules. It’s still amazing to me that Whaley didn’t have the decency to admit that she shouldn’t have accepted the spot in the BC Open.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Suzy played in what is now the Travelers Championship, but I think it was still the Canon GHO at the time.
I would’ve played if I had the chance.
BTW, Suzy did beat five golfers at the GHO.
152 Charles Meola 72 82 MC MC - - 154 -
T153 Gabriel Hjertstedt 77 78 MC MC - - 155 -
T153 Ryan Ouellette 76 79 MC MC - - 155 -
155 Dudley Hart 69 WD WD WD - - 69 -
156 David Duval 83 WD WD WD - - 83
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 10, 2009 11:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Tell me you haven’t forgotten this little detail…you’re GUY ! You hit drives that travel more than 240 yards. You aren’t a stranger to courses over 6500 yards – Whaley is. If you had been in that state Qualifier, you wouldn’t have been playing 70% of the course the rest of the men were playing.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Yeah, but “decency” has nothing to do with admitted that she wasn’t going to beat a lot of men. She earned it and she took it. Good for her. Why not get mad at David Duval for wasting a spot by firing an 83 that he knew he would shoot?
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 11, 2009 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Because David Duval earned his spot on Tour…has a major under his belt…multiple Tour wins ?
Whaley “earned” her spot on a rules ommission that everybody admitted was a big one. If the winner of that tournament was going to get to play 6300 yards against the men, that would be one thing – but she got her spot playing 6300 yards then had to play 7200 against PGA Tour players.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Oops. Just noticed RB
already mentioned Suzy. My bad…
...from the land of pleasant living, Baltimore.
by One-Eyed Golfer Guy on Aug 10, 2009 8:34 PM EDT reply actions
Don;t they do this during Silly Season already?
Seems like I remember Fred Funk wearing a skirt after Annika outdrove him in a Skin’s Game.
Yes – the Wendy’s Three Tour Challenge was mentioned earlier.
Yep – Funk had to wear the skirt (one of the all time great Skins moments) – which lead to Tiger Woods actually telling a joke on the green…reading Funk’s putt, he said it looked “two balls out”. Funk hit a horrible drive – Sorenstam’s ball rolled about a yard further.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
The Three Tour Challenge doesn’t really represent exactly what I was implying, but they do have that.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 11, 2009 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Three women – three younger(ish) men – three older men – all playing from different sets of tees – playing 36 holes – that’s exactly what you were talking about.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Yeah, team tournament – I was talking about an individual event.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 11, 2009 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions
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