LPGA aiming to become more marketable

LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw wants his golfers to play more often and look better while they're out there.

Votaw announced Wednesday that players from superstar Annika Sorenstam down to the bottom of the money list will have to play in every LPGA Tour event once during a four-year period beginning in 2003.

Furthermore, Votaw said that the tour's first Player Summit two weeks ago generated the premise that the players -- and in turn, the tour -- would become more popular and marketable if their outward appearance became more appealing.

At his annual "State of the Tour" address prior to the Nabisco Championship, Votaw also spoke of the LPGA Tour's projected financial growth despite a sports audience that grows smaller and more narrow each year.

At the Player Summit, Dr. Betsy Clark, a professional development group leader, identified the "Five Points of Celebrity" -- performance, approachability, joy and passion, revelance and appearance.

Although the notion had somewhat sexist undertones, Votaw said it was not met by objection from the players.

"They were accepting of what was being told to them, not only by the staff, but also by outside experts," Votaw said. "We simply said to them, `In terms of getting back to the Five Points of Celebrity, if you're a 10 on the performance scale but are lacking in relevance or joy and passion or approachability or appearance, you are going to be less marketable than someone who embodies more of those or all five of those.

"I think that resonated with them, not because we said it, because people outside the organization came to them and said, `This is what the marketplace is expecting from sports entertainers today.' Once that happened, you saw a buy-in pretty quickly from the players."

Votaw mentioned Anna Kournikova, although he noted she was an exception. An attractive women's tennis player, she has generated plenty of interest in herself and her sport despite never having won a tournament.

In a recent poll asking sports fans which female athlete they would most like to see appear in a photo spread in the men's magazine "Playboy," LPGA member Jill McGill finished second. Votaw said he would not stand in the way of McGill or another tour member making such an appearance.

"It reflected the fact that we have a number of very attractive people playing on the LPGA Tour," he said. "I would encourage her to ask as many intelligent questions as she could and make up her own mind about that, which is her right."

Votaw also noted that skills and looks are not the only factors.

"If you perform and have great looks but the fans don't feel that they can approach you, I don't think that will make you as marketable as another athlete," he said.

Whether the golfers are attractive or not, fans will be seeing more of them come 2003, when Votaw said all players in the top 90 of the money list will have to play every official event at least once during a four-year period.

"This is going to help guarantee strong fields each week and work in tandem with our tournament sponsors to create more volume for our sponsors," he said.

One of Votaw's stars -- Karrie Webb of Australia -- said she was in favor of the schedule requirement.

"Honestly, when I first heard of the idea, I didn't think it was a great idea because I was being asked to play on courses that I didn't particularly like to play," said Webb, who annually plays a somewhat limited LPGA Tour schedule. "Since I've had time to think about it, I think it is only fair that all tournaments get to see the top players at least once every four years, because they are supporting the tour."

Votaw admitted he had not yet developed a form of punishment for players who do not meet the requirement.

"There will be some level of penalty established, and as I said, I have four years to figure what that is."

Votaw lamented the inability to fill an open date on the tour calendar next month. But he also was excited about the tour's new stop in Chicago this year and added that the tour is ahead of schedule in meeting some of the financial goals he set when he became commissioner in 1999.

However, Votaw knows he must continue to grow the tour's popularity in order to grow it economically. He believes developing young players, growing sponsorships and marketing is the way to do that.

"This is not rocket science, but the key is actually doing it," he said.

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