Warning To Network Executives: Brand Lady To Come Knocking While You're On Vacation

...but at least she's presenting at the time of year when so many executives are vacationing in the Hamptons excited to hear pitches: August. Alan Blondin of The Sun News reports:

Bivens inherited cable contracts with ESPN and Golf Channel, and larger events are on ABC, NBC and CBS. Broadcast times vary greatly.

The tour will begin making presentations to network and cable stations in August. "The most important thing for the LPGA is to have a consistent television schedule," Bivens said. "It's very difficult for our fans to find where we are from week to week."

Since events in international locations aren't generally televised in the U.S., Bivens will try to group those to include dates when the LPGA would normally be dark, such as the weeks of the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

That should ensure they'll never make it on American airwaves too. 

The events are important for exposure and lucrative deals with international television stations in which the LPGA is paid for broadcast rights - similar to the PGA Tour TV agreements. Right now the LPGA buys time on ESPN and the three major networks and has to sell commercial spots itself. It has other agreements with the Golf Channel.

Bivens said for 2010 and beyond she'll either seek rights fees or develop an LPGA production company that would buy time and produce the programming itself. "If you have a brand that is still forming like the LPGA, being able to control your production is worth a lot of money," Bivens said.

Wait, the brand is still forming? Well, how is it a brand if it hasn't formed yet?

"Especially in terms of educating the audience as to the personalities behind the athletes. We're a society where fans develop behind personalities."

Ahh...translation: lots of fluff!

But I'm back on this brand formtion stuff. Branding experts, could you tell us how you know a forming brand officially becomes a brand? 

"There was a lot of things swirling around the media center."

The Brand Lady made a rare press center appearance to try and put out the various fires started by Michelle Wie's entourage last week.

CAROLYN BIVENS: I'm going to make a fairly brief opening statement and I will take a few questions, and I'll outline some of the things that we can and can't talk about.

She's baaaccckkkk!

I want to go back to last Thursday and the round in Charleston at River Town. Thursday morning, actually, beginning with the fifth hole that Michelle played, which was the 14th, there began to circulate all kind of rumors, innuendos and questions about a potential ruling, or lack thereof. There was a lot of things swirling around the media center.

And it's good to see she's been brushing up on her English.

At this point, she rambles on about the advice ruling, which isn't why we're here, is it? Now, the 88 stuff...

The 88 rule only came in to effect by the time that Michelle had finished what would have been her 10th or 11th hole and shot the 10.

The Wie camp asked questions about the rules and the regulations, and we did as we do every week, and as we had done earlier that day for her playing partners and for others out in the field; we answered the questions regarding the rules and the regulations. At no time did anyone from the LPGA make any suggestion that Michelle should come off of the course.

I see. And, does this mean Mr. Higgs was less than truthful about his consultations "for no particular reason" with Mr. Nared? Oh I'm sorry, continue...

The one thing that I will not go into is any of the conversation that took place with Mr. Wie, Greg Nared and myself.

Oh. Well, let's see what the slingers ask.

Q. How do you think the conversation went without getting into details? Did he accept what you had to say; not what was said but just the tone of it.

CAROLYN BIVENS: I'm not going to -- I'm not going to discuss it.

Hey, you tried.

Q. Do you ever thoughts on the 88 rule and whether that still need to be in existence?

CAROLYN BIVENS: I really don't.

That's comforting.

I'm not the expert on the rules. It's something that our executive committee will look at. What we generally do is at the end of the year we take two or three days in what's called think tank and the members of the executive committee, of which Annika is a member, get into some of the meatier issues that we really can't deal with during the playing year. And we figure out what needs to be changed, what needs to improve, what needs to be added for the following year.

Oh it's toast. As it should be.

 Q. And as a lot of these storylines focus around various aspects of conduct with a 17-year-old, is there anything that you noticed at all leading into last week that raised any red flags; that got your attention that "I need to kind of pay attention to this?"

CAROLYN BIVENS: The question was, was there any indication before leading into last week that maybe was a red flag or something that needed to be paid attention to.

Doug, there really hasn't been. There really hasn't been.

No, nothing at all! Not like say, having to be hospitalized or previous high profile rules infractions.

Nope, no red flags here!

"I mean this is my sixth year out here"

Travelgolf's Chris Baldwin reports that Michelle Wie and Carolyn Bivens chatted about Wie's Monday pro-am performance, and it wasn't pretty.

LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens talked to Wie and her Nike manager Greg Nared in a closed conference chat today at the LPGA Championship. Part of the talk centered on Wie's conduct in her pro-am round Monday. At least one of Wie's pro-am partners complained about the way the teenager treated her pro-am group during the round.

It's not known whether Bivens and Wie also got into a discussion over Wie's ever-increasingly-controversial withdrawal from the Ginn Tribute last Thursday with the 88 rule hanging over her - and the Tour's - head.

Wie called the conversation with Bivens "very insulting." "I mean this is my sixth year out here," Wie continued. "I've played in numerous pro-ams and this is the first time there's been any type of false accusation about me. I think it's ridiculous."

Questions For The Commissioner

If you haven't read Eric Adelson's account of the disturbing antics that took place with Michelle Wie's Ginn/Annika withdrawal, you must. While Adelson clearly observed some disturbing behavior on the part of B.J. Wie and agent Greg Nared while making some sad observations about Michelle's state of mind, left unanswered are bigger questions about the LPGA Tour's behavior.

According to Adelson, both LPGA Chief Operations Officer Chris Higgs and Commissioner Carolyn Bivens were present at various points in the round, particularly Higgs just before the crucial moment when Wie's wrist magically became unbearable, coincidentally after Nared happened to have spoken to her! 

Reader Four-putt brings up an innocent but vital question, namely, why was agent Greg Nared on a cell phone when they are not allowed? That leads to other more vital questions. Was Nared on the phone with someone clarifying the LPGA's rule Rule of 88 rendering 88 shooter's and higher ineligible for the rest of the year? Adelson writes:

Chris Higgs, the LPGA Chief Operations Officer, soon drove up in a cart and spoke with Nared. Higgs had been talking about the Rule of 88 in the media tent, but he said he came out to Wie's ropeline for "no particular reason."

Was Higgs informing Nared that he could not use a cell phone, or was he explaining the Rule of 88?

"No particular reason" doesn't cut it.

Furthermore, let's say Higgs was explaining the Rule of 88 ramifications, did he suggest that Wie should withdraw if she would like to play in LPGA events later in the year? And if so, was Commissioner Carolyn Bivens, who was on the course at points in her round, involved in this discussion?

There have been questions for some time about Carolyn Bivens' regard for the rules of tournament player, dating back to the events that led to Barb Trammell's ouster and to that bizarre Annika-Paula Creamer incident. But this episode may have more significant ramifications because Bivens and here COO were directly involved in the decision and were directly or indirectly communicating with a player on the course through her agent.

And were LPGA officials involved in the decision to explain the reason for the withdrawal so that Wie would not have to in the post round press conference? 

This is of course why Tim Finchem gets the big bucks. He wouldn't have been caught dead within three states of such a debacle.

Anyway, I'm sure you all have more questions for the Commissioner, so please post them. Not that she'll likely step into the press tent to answer any.

"Soon after her score ballooned to 12-over on the par-72 course, her parents began consulting with each other and William Morris manager Greg Nared, who had a cell phone to his ear."

Eric Adelson at ESPN.com paints a richly detailed, compelling and ultimately stunning portrayal of the events surrounding Michelle Wie's first round WD from the Ginn/Annika event. Thanks to reader Steve for spotting this fine reporting, which you should read in its entirety.

The highlights. Or lowlights.

Wie landed in the bunker on 14, and then came one of the oddest holes of her brief pro career. She pushed her drive into the trees on the par-3 15th, then searched for her ball. Her mother, father, caddie and a family friend helped look for it before she called an unplayable lie.

Then Wie's father, B.J., said something to her caddie. More than one reporter present heard him say, "What about the tee?" Within seconds, Michelle decided to go back to the tee to hit again. She told her playing partners to putt out as she walked back to the beginning of the hole.

Playing partner Janice Moodie cautioned B.J. about Rule 8-1, which forbids a player from soliciting advice. "During a stipulated round," the rule states, "a player must not ... ask for advice from anyone other than his partner or either of their caddies." The penalty is two strokes. After Wie blocked her second shot and ended up with a triple-bogey, B.J. approached rules official Angus McKenzie and spoke with him for several minutes while his daughter moved to the next hole. McKenzie said later that B.J. had an explanation for the interaction, saying that he was only asking the caddie, "What are the options?"

Technically, there is no rules violation, since Michelle did not actively ask for help. But McKenzie told B.J., "When in doubt, don't."

Sharp had the same concerns. "Anybody can say something from outside the ropes," she said. "But he was too close. He's always so close to her. You're going to get your daughter in trouble. Everyone at the range was talking about it."

Oh but it gets worse. Much worse.

Meanwhile, Wie's body language began to match her game. She slumped her shoulders and sighed repeatedly. She showed little energy, even in the form of frustration, trudging along to her ball and taking less than the usual time lining up putts. She said almost nothing to her playing partners or to her caddie. And no wonder. Her round felt like a geological excursion, going from water to pavement to sand to tall grass.

Then came the bottom: the par-5 third hole. Wie's tee shot veered out of bounds, into a street, and down a storm drain. LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens, who suddenly appeared on the fringe of the fairway, stood by as a little boy got on his hands and knees to peer into the drain in search of the ball. Wie played a provisional and hooked that into a pond. She walked toward the street in hopes of finding her ball, then turned and retraced her steps to the tee for the second time during the round. She eventually carded a quintuple-bogey 10, and stood at 12-over after 12 holes.

Now missing the cut became the least of Wie's troubles. The somewhat obscure Rule of 88 states that a non-member who shoots 88 is forced to withdraw and subsequently banned from LPGA co-sponsored events for the remainder of the calendar season. Wie said later that she never considered the possibility, but soon after her score ballooned to 12-over on the par-72 course, her parents began consulting with each other and William Morris manager Greg Nared, who had a cell phone to his ear. Chris Higgs, the LPGA Chief Operations Officer, soon drove up in a cart and spoke with Nared. Higgs had been talking about the Rule of 88 in the media tent, but he said he came out to Wie's ropeline for "no particular reason."

Wie's score climbed to 14-over, and then, after finishing up on the seventh hole, Nared spoke to Wie briefly before she announced, "We're not going to play anymore."

Wie had a 43 on the front and was at 7-over 35 on the back -- two bogeys shy of 88. She shook hands with her competitors, glumly climbed into a cart, and rode to the clubhouse, where she met behind closed doors with her parents and Nared. The four spoke for 15 minutes, then an ice pack was brought in for Wie's left wrist. Wie then walked to the media tent without the ice pack.

Oh but yes, there's even more.

So why did she withdraw?

An LPGA official answered that question for her, saying, "Michelle, thank you for coming in after your withdrawal from the tournament because of your wrist. Are you optimistic from here on out once your wrist does heal?"

Wie's reply: "Yeah, it felt good when I was practicing but I kind of tweaked it in the middle of the round a little bit. So just taking cautionary measures, and I know what to work on. The only way to go up from here is up, so I'm feeling pretty good about it."

Later, she elaborated: "Well, I think that when an injury is in the back of your mind, you're thinking, 'Oh, this is going to hurt.' The last thing you're thinking about is trying to hit the ball straight.'

That, combined with her stilted follow through, shows that her injury has not healed. And yet Wie did not shake her wrist or show any sign of discomfort during the round. Last season, she grabbed her wrist on several occasions, even during press conferences.

"She wasn't holding her wrist," Sharp said. "I think she just had a bad day. If it was her wrist, why wait until the last two holes [to withdraw]?"

That question will probably never be answered. Nor will the question of what happened with her father and her caddie on the fifth hole. "I don't know," Wie told reporters. "It's a long way back."

And it's a long way back for Wie herself. The withdrawal will not affect her world ranking, but she has not broken par in an LPGA event since last July. That doesn't include all the trouble she's faced in recent men's events. The season's second major awaits next week at the LPGA Championship in Maryland, and -- assuming she plays -- she will face more questions about her withdrawal, her wrist, her swing, and the involvement of her parents. But the most worrisome question may be about her state of mind.

"I kind of felt bad for her," Sharp said. "She didn't seem happy."

Wow. 

"It's a Rubik's Cube, it all has to fit together."

Thanks to LPGA Fan for spotting the Brand Lady's interview in what seems like ages. From Charleston's Post and Courier (she saves her time for the big platforms!), interviewed by Tommy Braswell:

When you first took over as LPGA commissioner, there seemed to be a lot of controversy. But things have settled down. Are you happy with the LPGA's direction now?

"I'll speak for myself and my staff.

That's right, only you be so presumptuous!

We're very happy with the direction things are going. We made some changes and went through all the bumps in the road last year. We're in a much stronger position this year. We've added three new tournaments. And redoing a little bit of our schedule has made a difference for the players and, I think, the attendance at some of the events. We're very strongly focused on next year, and several of us are working on years 2009 and out. I think not only what you see this year, but what you'll see in 2008, 2009 and 2010, you'll really see the direction the LPGA is headed."

When you first came to the LPGA did you expect it to be a smooth transition?

"I knew that making change wasn't going to be easy. What I did underestimate was how public it was going to be."

And whose fault is that again?

Your thoughts on drug testing?

"We are being proactive for a couple of reasons. Number one is that our sport in Europe already has been testing for several years. We were almost tested at Evian last year. So we need to get into the world in which we compete. Number two, I do believe with a group of women it's a little different in terms of drug testing. From the time women are 17, 18 years old, there are certain hormones one takes until the time they're 50 to 55 years old. So we have a much bigger job of education before implementing drug testing. We wanted the opportunity to do this in the right way and to educate women and be ready as opposed to having to react to something."

Why can't she be that coherent on other issues?

What's your take on the LPGA's TV ratings?

"They're up overall. They're up again, 2005 over 2004, 2006 over 2005, and so far (in 2007) they're up again."

What kind of goals do you have regarding TV ratings?

"We did start from a smaller base, but so did the Champions Tour and so do a lot of other sports. Nonetheless, we're the only ones bucking the trend. Our trend line is in the right direction. The specific numbers for the Ginn Open (an April event in Florida) was 1.3, which is one great rating.

Let's not jump for joy just yet!

And the last three hours going to The Golf Channel, it was 410,000, which again is a very big number. There's no way you can attribute it to anything else but the women and the caliber of play."

Jeese, you'd think she just outdrew the final night of American Idol! 

Have the young faces helped?

"No question, newness does have an interest. But make no mistake, Juli Inkster and some of the others have very big followings.

I mean, who isn't checking her scores hourly?

I think it's the combination of having the Morgan Pressels and the Juli Inksters still out there and still being competitive. Juli is not out there as a hobby. She's still winning tournaments and finishing in the top 10. It's the combination that makes the product so exciting. There's nothing else like it in sports."

Ah the product. And here we are 400 words into this and not one brand reference!

South Carolina has a mixed history with LPGA tournaments. What's the secret of keeping tournaments?

"The LPGA has done a pretty good job of keeping tournaments. One of the things is matching up the corporate sponsor, a good golf course and a community where you can get volunteers and available TV times. It's a Rubik's Cube, it all has to fit together.

 I thought we were going to try to cut down on the metaphors, Carolyn?

Bivens' Salary

A wire story from reader Nick and LPGA Fan:

SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL’s Daniel Kaplan cites an LPGA tax return as showing that Commissioner Carolyn Bivens earned $238,872 in the last six months of ’05, her first months on the job, which means her pay “would come to almost $478,000 annually.” Bivens’ predecessor, Ty Votaw, earned $459,677 in ’04 and $300,000 in ’03 (SBJ, 4/9 issue)....

IM'ing With The Commissioners, Vol. V

My NSA sources took time out from their search for those lost RNC emails to share a Sunday night conversation between the LPGA's Commissioner Carolyn Bivens and PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. This followed Sunday's bizarre day in which the LPGA event on CBS was delayed, the PGA Tour's Heritage play on CBS cancelled by high winds, and with the delayed LPGA's event on CBS airing on The Golf Channel.

DaBrandLady: tim, you there?

twfPGATour©: Hi Carolyn.

DaBrandLady: Rough day for the product.

twfPGATour©: I know, our consumers had to listen to Bobby Clampett on two channels at once.

DaBrandLady: oh. I meant the winds.

DaBrandLady: i thought he was great on the ginn. we feel lucky to have his insights.

twfPGATour©: Yes you are. He's a big talent.

DaBrandLady: say tim, I know the ginn on cbs was an ad buy for us and all, but since it was running long and the heritage was in that hurricane delay, don't you think we could have seen more of our event shown live on cbs instead of tape from last year's heritage?

twfPGATour©: Well you know I wish could have helped, but as you well know the platform layering dynamics are intensely complicated.

DaBrandLady: ha! i actually wrote a dissertation on that when I was at the usa today and they wanted to change the life's section color from purple to navy blue.

DaBrandLady: anyway, i do know all about the parameters involved. it just seemed odd to have our event going on with so many dynamic young women-American golfers competing with a future hall of famer, and then to turn and see you all teasing the viewer with updates before heading back to tape of last year.

twfPGATour©: I feel your pain Carolyn. It's out of my hands.

DaBrandLady: and for cbs, what an opportunity to declare their devotion to young women-american athletes in light of the dan imos de-branding thing.

twfPGATour©: It's actually Don Imus I believe.

DaBrandLady: of course, silly me!

DaBrandLady: say, that new creative with zach johnson was quite exquisite.

twfPGATour©: Yes, fortuitous timing for strengthening our family of brands and for Zach's ability to leverage the equity in his newfound brand stature.

DaBrandLady: whoever thought of using him in those new spots should get a big raise!

twfPGATour©: Glad you reminded me of that Carolyn. I'm making a note right now to bump Tom Wade's salary another $100,000 a year. He's undervalued at $550,000 per year.

DaBrandLady: say, speaking of salary Tim, did you see this sports business journal article about how much I'm making?

twfPGATour©: They had you at around $500,000 I believe.

DaBrandLady: yes they got it off this battlestar web site that monitors non-profits.

twfPGATour©: Guidestar.

DaBrandLady: well, anyway, i was looking around their site and i noticed you guys have managed to keep your most recent tour returns off. how do i do the same thing? because my brand coaches feel i took a hit in light of the fact that i'm only making a half-mil while you are making $7 million and Len Zelig is making $14.5 million.

twfPGATour©: it's Bud Selig and can you believe that? I need to go back to the policy board for a raise.

DaBrandLady: right, so how do I stop this brand-damaging from going online?

twfPGATour©: well it's a legal issue for us, but if you call Ed M he'll explain how to do it. It's a layered process that involves many dynamics and metrical platform delineational restructuring with the IRS.

DaBrandLady: oh, and here i was hoping it was just something powell-tate handled up in d.c.

twfPGATour©: Well, there's that too.

DaBrandLady: great! thanks tim!

twfPGATour©: My pleasure Carolyn. Give my best to, uh...

DaBrandLady: he says hi back!

"You've got to have technique and balance to pull off the long shots"

The Brand Lady did a wonderful job with those softballs lobbed by those 18-to-34-year-old demo drawers Verne Lundquist and Judy Rankin during today's Dinah Shore final round. Me thinks the LPGA Commish has been working overtime with her brand coach, but she did stray into foreign territory this week and thanks to LPGA Fan, we get some juicy insights from Ms. Bivens.

From Janet Cromley's LA Times story on women hitting the ball longer (or not):

But they can get closer with improved mechanics and technique, says LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens. "Frankly," says Bivens, "the women have to be more fit than the men and their mechanics have to be better. A guy can mis-hit a ball and mis-hit it farther."

To hit the ball farther, the women are focusing not only on upper body strength but also leg and core strength, with balance as the ultimate goal. "You've got to have technique and balance to pull off the long shots," says Bivens.

"To promote the pipeline of up-and-coming players."

It's been a while since LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens made any noise, and while this may not get much attention, it's nonetheless shady.

LPGA modifies field criteria for select events

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) today announced a modification to field criteria for select events that will enable the LPGA to offer a sponsor exemption to the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion if an LPGA event is staged in her home state.  This exemption would be in addition to the event’s contracted sponsor exemptions and would only be enacted if the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion is still an amateur at the time of the LPGA event and, when offering an exemption, would not decrease the playing opportunities for LPGA players.

Did you get all of that? Gee, this comes up so rarely, I'm sure it won't be relevant anytime soon. It's just basic platform strengthening and...wait, oh there's more.

Next month’s SBS Open at Turtle Bay and Fields Open in Hawaii, the first two official events of the 2007 Tour season staged on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, will be the first events to benefit from this modification.  Reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kimberly Kim is from Hawaii.

“We are pleased to offer the SBS Open and Fields Open the opportunity to invite Kimberly Kim in addition to their traditional sponsor exemptions,” said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens.  “This is an opportunity to recognize the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion from Hawaii as well as to promote the pipeline of up-and-coming players.”

Get that? Pipeline. Hawaii. She's good!

IM'ing With The Commissioners IV

My NSA sources forwarded another exclusive, this time another of golf's two commissioners chatting it up via instant message. As with the past exchanges (here, here and here), the insider details are rivetting, I must say. 

This time they are chatting right after Bob Hope Chrysler Classic play where high winds, grump players and a sluggish Golf Channel telecast made it all but impossible not to watch the Saints-Bears game. Commissioners...

DaBrandLady: tim, you there?

twfPGATour©: Hi Carolyn.

DaBrandLady: Great product today.

twfPGATour©: Thanks, I thought so too. Wonderful storylines with that whole structural dilemma of dealing with that really bizarre wind event, and so many players in the coveted demo contending.

twfPGATour©:  Best of all, GOLF CHANNEL is really contextualizing the storylines and creating that feeling of pressure building on players who are falling behind in the FedEx Cup points race.

DaBrandLady: totally! tiger has so much ground to make up already! we pray for storylines like that!

DaBrandLady: but i was wondering why they didn't have those fancy windmills out there at the classic club.

twfPGATour©: Oh, haha, yes it was a bit windy, but my people say that's unusual for that part of the desert. They say those other 100,000 or so power generating wind towers you see out there are simply tax deductible means for the property owners. It really isn't a windy spot.

DaBrandLady: really? when the huz and i drove to the nabisco from l.a., we were wondering if any courses had ever thought of incorporating those wind energy things into their designs.

twfPGATour©: You're serious?

DaBrandLady: absolutely. hear me out. you line the fairways with them in lieu of trees.

DaBrandLady: you could sign one of these windmill makers up as a presenting sponsor, have them out there generating revenue for the platform as the tournament is going on. you would be delivering value to your players and to your new presenting sponsor. you might want to run some metrics on this. i know i would.

twfPGATour©: Interesting. Maybe we could have the guy who does GOLF CHANNEL's Win Zone cook up some numbers. Isn't that a great advance? Adds so much texture to the telecast.

DaBrandLady: yeah i saw where they had charley kaufman at 7.3% with a hole to go!

twfPGATour©: It's actually Hoffman.

DaBrandLady: The Win Zone guy?

twfPGATour©: No, Charley Hoffman, who won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Hosted by George Lopez.

DaBrandLady: oh. well anyway, the windmill thing was just a thought. you know how i'm always looking for ways to cross leverage value through sound metricking to better the lives my players sponsors. hey is that a word, metricking?

twfPGATour©: I don't know Carolyn, but I like it.

DaBrandLady: say tim, there's an issue that's come up and i wanted to run it by you before i have to deal with the media.

twfPGATour©: What's that?

DaBrandLady: well my people have been looking at your golf channel ratings and well...

twfPGATour©: What? The 18-34 number? We think it can only go up.

DaBrandLady: no no, the overall ratings. you see, well, at some point we at the lpga are going to be on espn or "the deuce" as i like to call it

twfPGATour©: The deuce? Oh ESPN2. Very original Carolyn. And your point?

DaBrandLady: well, we're probably going to score a higher rating on one of the espn's than what you all are pulling in on the golf channel.

twfPGATour©: I find that hard to believe because of the numbers we'll generate on the repeat airings. My dad says he's watching it live and on the repeat. But I'll have Ty look into it and get back to you on the language of how we deal with that and give it texture and meaning for the consumer. And I appreciate your concern for our brand.

DaBrandLady: anytime tim. well, that was all. again, great product today.

twfPGATour©: Thanks Carolyn. Give my best to, uh...

DaBrandLady: he says hi back!

Harig On The Commissioners

Bob Harig pieces together an analysis of Tim Finchem's lousy year, and paints him as severely out of touch. But instead of drawing a conclusion about what this means for the PGA Tour and a man making $7 million a year, Harig details the rough year of Carolyn Bivens.

Still, it's a significant piece because a highly visible writer is offering the sharpest mainstream media criticism of the Commissioner's handling of the Western Open, drug testing and the FedEx Cup.

Readers here know that this story has been festering, but so far the major publications have not delved into the various misfires and other excessive spending in Ponte Vedra. If they want to attack what seems to be an enormous story, they also might want to consider the demise of the TPC "brand" under Finchem's watch, the Champions Tour decline, the...well, you get the idea.

It should be interesting to see if other writers pick up on the same theme as Harig, or perhaps take things a step further and suggest a change at the top. 

"And the list goes on."

Doug Ferguson puts Carolyn Bivens in her place for daring to call the PGA Tour an LPGA peer:

The total prize money on the LPGA Tour this year was about $54 million. Total prize money on the PGA Tour was $260 million.

The PGA Tour will get about $1 billion from its six-year contract with the television networks next year, along with a 15-year deal with The Golf Channel to broadcast weekday rounds. The LPGA Tour has to buy most of its television time, and some tournaments could not be found anywhere on TV.

There were a record 11 millionaires on the LPGA Tour this year. The PGA Tour had 93.

And the list goes on. 

"You've also got the cultural pressure, particularly the Asian pressure."

What was that I wrote about Bivens being the better commissioner? And now this interview with Golfweek's Beth Ann Baldry. It's as if Baldry startled her in the night...

In regards to drug testing, do you feel like you put pressure on PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem (by announcing the LPGA would become the first tour to have a drug-testing program)?

Tim Finchem has a whole different set of issues that he's dealing with. We did what's right for us.

Would you like to see the PGA Tour follow (the LPGA's lead)?

I don't care if the PGA Tour follows. My concern is the LPGA.

KInd of makes you long for that wordy, meaningless, empty spin. Okay, now it just gets weird. 

The LPGA has hired Shirley Shin to help Asian players study transcripts to better their English skills.

We've also had Shirley walking the pro-ams with the South Korean players. (She is teaching) conversational English. How do you help an amateur player line up a putt?

How do you listen to the associate vice president from ShopRite tell a boring hole-by-hole story? How do act like you actually care that your team might crack the top ten in the pro-am? Oh sorry... 

It's functional English if you will. ...

A subject Bivens knows something about: speaking functional English. Barely.

I think we've heightened the sensitivity that we are an international tour, and when we're here in this country everyone that plays on this tour ought to have a command of the English language. ... You've got some cultural barriers there, parents who for the most part think any hour that's not spent practicing is a wasted hour. You've also got the cultural pressure, particularly the Asian pressure, that if you don't do something really well, then you don't do it.

Hey, you got love her honesty. Uh, the Asian pressure. Is that like, The Google?

How do you bring the average fan on board when the leaderboard is dominated by Koreans?

The English is part of it. We just got some great research from the Bonham Group back called the Barrier Study.

Oh no, it's got a name. The Barrier Study. A satirists dream come true. 

One of the reasons very avid sports fans or very avid golf fans don't make the transition to the LPGA is when they watch the television coverage, they don't know enough about the women that they're watching. When we watch the PGA (Tour), we know just about everything there is to know about Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson, their childhood, who they are married to, everything about them. ...

Well, I don't know if we know everything about Phil! And we still haven't seen all five bathrooms of Privacy.

It's especially true for the Asian players; the media tends to talk about them monolithically. Paula (Creamer) is as different from Natalie (Gulbis) as any other player. It's building those personalities and letting people know.

Monolithically? They didn't teach me how to use that word at Pepperdine.

How about making the cut 60 and ties (instead of 70) or limiting the fields to 120?

There are a number of issues overall, I would consider them very seminal issues, that the LPGA needs to address in the next couple years. The size of fields. As we play better and better golf courses it gets more difficult to get 140 women around them.

Interesting. The better the course, the slower the round? Hmmm...no, the hillier, longer and more spread out by housing developments, the longer it takes. Nice try though! 

In regards to ShopRite, people keep telling me the other side of the story isn't being reported. What is your side?

I think that what has gotten missed is that we tried to contact the Harrisons (tournament owners Larry and Ruth) repeatedly. We had met with every tournament owner before we got to their tournament except the Harrisons. The Harrisons are difficult to deal with under the best of circumstances. By the way, the ShopRite people had nothing to do with this and they really don't like their name being brought into this. ... There's two messages that have gotten out in some cases and we just plain haven't been able to reel back in. One is that we were very capricious and the (ShopRite) date went to the highest bidder. No. 2 is that we just don't care about long-term sponsors. Again, not the case.

Capricious. Uh, according to answers.com: Characterized by or subject to whim; impulsive and unpredictable. That could never describe our Carolyn!

There's been a lot written about your husband's (frequent) presence in the media room. How should people interpret his presence.

I travel 40-45 weeks a year. We ripped our lives from Los Angeles, where he was close to his kids and where he had a life, to come here and do this. This is not my first marriage. If you look at the last few commissioners, it's not a good track record. I don't intend to be subject to that again. Bill has nothing to do with running the tour. He does enjoy the players and the caddies.

Enjoys the players and the caddies. Eh, that might not have been the best way to put that.

Do you ever feel like, as a woman, you have to come across a little bit tougher to prove yourself?

I actually try to do the opposite because when I say 'No, I don't think that's the best way to do things,' it comes across very differently than when a man says the same thing. I try to stay back at least until I've worked with people or developed a relationship that's strong enough to maybe come straight ahead at it. (NBA commissioner) David Stern is one of my role models. I look at some of the things that David has been through this past year and he's reported as being very decisive, very pragmatic, doing exactly what has to be done.

Yes, he's been through a lot. Cashing that $10 million paycheck can be such a burden.

I'm reported as being take-it-or-leave-it, arrogant. It's different words that are describing the same behavior. (Whether it's with) television, production media, tournament owners, sponsors, I don't want to say that I'm coming across as softer, but I'm trying very hard to make sure (it's known) the reputation I'm being tattooed with isn't the way we operate.

Well, this interview ought to really help! 

The Better Commissioner?

I haven't been able to bring myself to wondering out loud if Carolyn Bivens is actually doing a better job than Tim Finchem.  But you have to give her credit for saying fewer stupid things lately, pushing the innovative ADT Championship (well...not sure how much this was her idea) and most of all, initiating a drug testing program while the PGA Tour stumbles all over itself.

But is this really a statement about Bivens and the great job she is doing, or just how out of touch Finchem has become?

I'm thinking the latter, and Joe Logan agrees in his column today.

But with commissioner Carolyn Bivens proclaiming she wants the LPGA to be "proactive" even though she sees no evidence of a problem, it makes Finchem look, well, asleep at the wheel.

It makes you wonder what the player directors must be thinking after re-upping Finchem for four years and $7 million a year.

Or did those player directors actually renew his deal?