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This is what leadership looks like and why tough decisions, while often costly and unpopular, also can inspire awe.
Last Thursday, just a few hours after Hideki Matsuyama shot a course-record-tying 63 at TPC Sawgrass while the PGA Tour prepared to stage the rest of the tournament without spectators, Mike Whan and the leadership team at the LPGA made one of the boldest and toughest calls in sports. After canceling three earlier events in China, Thailand and Singapore, because of fears about the coronavirus, the LPGA put out an announcement at 5:30 p.m. that read: “Today, the LPGA informed its players that in an effort to minimize risks with the global outbreak of COVID-19 and following the California government’s directive regarding events, the next three events on the LPGA Tour schedule are postponed: the Volvik Founders Cup in Phoenix, Ariz., which was scheduled to take place March 19-22; the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, Calif., which was scheduled to take place March 26-29; and the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, Calif., which was scheduled for April 2-5. The plan is to reschedule these events for later dates in the 2020 season.
“The upcoming two events on the Symetra Tour that were set to take place in California were also postponed (the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Beaumont, Calif., from March 27-29 and the Windsor Golf Classic in Windsor, Calif., from April 2-4).”
An organization and its members revealed their character last week. And everyone, in and out of golf, should aspire to the standard they set.
Whan led the way. The LPGA’s decision came before PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the cancellation of the Players Championship and three subsequent tournaments and before Augusta National announced the postponement of the Masters. And while golf’s abrupt hiatus jarred the consciousness of most fans, the decision by Whan and his team was especially difficult given the length of time LPGA Tour players already had been waiting to play again.
Rolex Rankings world No. 1 Jin Young Ko, for example, has yet to strike an official shot in 2020. Ko didn’t play in either of the Florida events in January and chose not to travel to Australia for either the Vic Open or the Women’s Australian Open. With a compressed summer schedule that was to include five title defenses, the UL International Crown and the Olympic Games, Ko had planned to pick up the tour in Thailand and knock off the competitive rust before her first title defense at the Founders Cup.
Now, she will have gone at least five months between competitive starts, in a best-case scenario.
Whan went on Golf Channel moments after the decision was announced and told Rich Lerner, “The two decisions to cancel events, one back in late January and one obviously today, were completely different. The one back in late January when this was a brand-new thing, I think we probably canceled (the Asian events) more out of uncertainly than certainty. We weren’t sure. (COVID-19) had started in China and was just showing up in Thailand and Singapore. And because we didn’t know what we were dealing with, we decided to make that decision. In hindsight, thank God we did. But it wasn’t because we had all the information.
“Now if you jump ahead to today, with the (LPGA) crisis management team meeting every day, you’re filled with a lot more data.”
And while that data showed relatively few cases and even fewer deaths in the United States – the H1N1 swine flu had killed 1,000 Americans in 2009 before the government declared it a national emergency – the fact that the LPGA is a global tour with players from every continent presents a wealth of logistical and safety issues few can fathom. Flights from South Korea, for example, had been canceled long before anyone in golf made a scheduling announcement. And even if they weren’t, does any leader want to place young people in jeopardy by putting them on an overseas flight in the midst of a global pandemic?
“I feel fairly confident we probably could play Phoenix, maybe we could even play Carlsbad, and play without fans and keep some personal distance,” Whan said. “But can I live with it if I’m wrong? If I’m wrong, I live with (that decision) for the rest of my life.
“If it’s a decision that’s wrong the other way and we should have played, I feel terrible about it, but I can live with that. This is a decision that I might not like but I don’t think I’ll ever regret.”
That is why Whan is the kind of leader golf, sports, and our nation needs.
Not long after he made the cancellations public, Whan tweeted, “To all sponsors who endorse LPGA athletes, please consider disregarding the number of events they play or how many times they are televised in 2020. I know they want to play, but we are keeping them (and others) safe. Please don’t penalize them for my decisions.”
Moments later, LPGA player Marina Alex tweeted, “Agree or disagree, very proud of the LPGA Commish and LPGA’s decision. We are blessed to play this incredible sport. Let’s not forget that. It’s our responsibility to help solve the ongoing crisis that is crippling the economy and healthcare system, not our job to add potential risk.”
Alex’s message was repeated by numerous LPGA Tour players and caddies, most of whom are looking at financial hardships that no one in the inner circle of the PGA Tour can comprehend.
The LPGA is a close-knit global family, one without entourages or outsized egos. Never is that more evident than in times of crisis.
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