Foreign players dominate LPGA

[WMitch6]

Some interesting numbers. The PGA identifies foreign players on it's internet leaderboard. The LPGA does not. At the Buick this year foreign players accounted for a bit over 20% (11 of 50) of the top 50 players. Just a guess but it wouldn't surprise me if foreign player participation has changed much in the last 20 years.

I looked at the LPGA leaderboard for the last tournament comparable to the Buick (Farr). Foreign players were approximately 70% (36 of 50)of the players in the top 50. Wonder why America is losing interest in the LPGA?

[limpalong]

All tours are having difficulty with viewership and sponsorship. The global economic downturn has had a tremendous negative effect on the game. Rounds are down at most every course. Courses are closing or facing cutbacks.

The relationship between the PGA and TGC has, also, been a negative for the game. As people who might watch an event are flipping through channels on a Sunday afternoon, they'll find Scrabble or Kangaroo gymnastics or informercials for the latest virility drug on the channels they can get. Too many cable companies only offer TGC as part of a premium package and the game is just not available to the occasional viewer.

That said, there is a distinct difference between the PGA and the LPGA... today.

Many of the PGA players that are listed as from countries other than the U.S. live here. You could meet the largest percent of the PGA players at WalMart or a church social and not know they were from overseas. Their accents, if they have one, do not butcher the English language nearly as bad as many who have lived here... or in Wisconsin... their entire life!!! Many have attended college here. Many have wed ladies native to the U.S. It is easy to identify with most of the PGA players, simply because they do not appear "different".

This is not the case with the LPGA. A large percent of the leading players on the LPGA have to use interpreters to carry on a conversation with the media. Few have attended college here. Few live here off season. We do not see the blending of their native cultures with ours.

When we had the Swedish/European presence on the LPGA it was not so noticable. Anika was schooled here. Anika made her home here. We could relate. Lorena is/was a sweetheart, but has had great difficulty mastering the English language. She is/was so proud of her Mexican heritage, had a large family and following in Mexico, and spent her spare time at home. We see the same from the talented young ladies topping the leaderboard that hail from South Korea and Japan.

We who live to enjoy this game can, often, look past the communication and cultural differences. We can relate with the good shots and the bad shots and the struggle to keep this game from kicking your butt. There are many, however, that find it difficult to relate with those who we cannot communicate with. Strangers to the game, should they tune in on a Sunday's LPGA round, may not further investigate the game if they cannot find a player to follow.

The recently departed/fired/resigned LPGA commissioner(ess) handled the communication issue poorly. I do believe she could have handled the communication issue more discretely and, perhaps, had more luck at getting players more "reachable". The last issue of Golf Magazine had an interesting article about a number of the LPGA ladies who had done some swimsuit modeling. That article included young ladies from Germany and Sweden and the U.S., but made each of them seem "human". Sexist??? Of course!!! A means of making the players seem more like the girls you see on the local college campus or in the local Old Navy store? You betcha!!!!

Until we see the economy back to 1990's "good times"... until we see the players become more "reachable"... until we see the leading players appear as if they could be the "girl next door"... the LPGA is in for some difficult times.