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After months of rumors and speculation, all interested parties confirmed the news on Wednesday. Outgoing LPGA commissioner Mike Whan will take over this summer as the new chief executive officer of the USGA, replacing the retiring Mike Davis.
As tempting as it might be to yawn at a story about one golf administrator replacing another, this is not a different paint scheme on the same puzzle piece. This is big. Whan to the USGA has the potential to alter the game as well as change the way the outside world views golf.
“I know there is so much about this (move) that doesn’t fit,” Whan said. “And that has me more excited than the parts that do fit. And I do believe that, along with the executive team that’s already there (at the USGA), we’re going to not only preserve the game but promote the game.”
Whan became a superstar in his 11 years at the LPGA, taking a league on the brink of disaster and transforming it into one of the most dynamic sports properties in the world. He did it not by having all the best ideas, but by creating a culture that promoted the ideas of others.
His first act on his first day at the LPGA was to wrench a sign out of the ground near a parking spot that read “Reserved for LPGA Commissioner.” It was a value statement, one he would reiterate for more than a decade.
“There’s been a healthy and aggressive discussion on whether or not we needed to get an outsider’s perspective,” said USGA president Stu Francis. “We’ve never gotten an outsider to come in and lead the USGA in a hundred-plus years. But now, everybody is comfortable with that. The skill set and strategic view Mike brings to the table is hugely additive to what we have in the senior team.
“People want change. They’re excited about it. But they also want change that retains the core of the USGA. And I think we get that with Mike.”
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