Brand Lady: Learn English Or It's Sayonara!

This story has the potential to explode into one of those Jimmy The Greek, Ben Wright-style clashes where the PC police take on the perpetrator, in this case, the LPGA Tour. Frankly, I might actually not blame the PC police on this one. Beth Ann Baldry reports:

At a mandatory South Korean player meeting Aug. 20 at the Safeway Classic, the tour informed its largest international contingent that beginning in 2009, all players who have been on tour for two years must pass an oral evaluation of their English skills. Failure would result in a suspended membership.

“Hopefully what we’re talking about is something that will not happen,” said Libba Galloway, the tour’s deputy commissioner, of possible suspensions. “If it does, we wouldn’t just say, ‘Come back next year.’ What we would do is work with them on where they fell short, provide them the resources they need, the tutoring . . . and when we feel like they need to be evaluated again, we would evaluate.”

Galloway said the policy takes effect immediately, but the “measurement time will be at the end of 2009.” There are 121 international players from 26 countries on tour; 45 are South Koreans.

Hilary Lunke, president of the Player Executive Committee, said much of this initiative stems from the importance of being able to entertain pro-am partners. Players already are fined if the LPGA receives complaints from their pro-am partners. Now the tour is taking it one step further.

“The bottom line is, we don’t have a job if we don’t entertain,” Lunke said. “In my mind, that’s as big a part of the job as shooting under par.”

Okay, so they learn some rudimentary English, which actually gives them a leg up on the Commissioner.

Is the pro-am conversation really going to get beyond "good shot" and "left edge" and "nice meeting you"? Unbelievable.

This, is going to get ugly.