Only a matter of time until Bivens' LPGA tenure expires

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Cristie Kerr has never been one to hold back an opinion on most subjects, but two days before the start of the 64th U.S. Women's Open at Saucon Valley Country Club, she was not quite ready to address the somewhat chaotic current state of the LPGA Tour.

The Open will start here Thursday three days after published reports Monday indicated that several top players, including Kerr herself, have signed a letter to the tour's board of directors calling for the resignation of commissioner Carolyn Bivens, the first female to hold the position in the tour's history.

Cristie Kerr was reportedly one of several players who asked for Carolyn Bivens to resign as the LPGA commish. (Getty Images)

"What I will say is that our player organization is very focused on how these difficult economic times affect our tour, and we are actively working with our executive board of management to create the best product for our partners and fans, so let's talk about the U.S. Open this week."

The good news: No one asked Kerr about her wine-making.

The bad news: Asked whether she had indeed signed that letter, she said, "I really can't comment. We're all very unified in trying to make the tour better and we're looking at every possible opportunity from top to bottom."

Published reports on the websites of Golfweek and Golf World magazines both indicated that 15 top players met with several of the player members of the tour's 13-person board of directors on July 2 at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Toledo to discuss the current problems facing the women's tour and whether Bivens' was the right person for solving them going forward.

A letter requesting Bivens resignation signed by a number of participants in the meeting was then sent to the LPGA's board of directors. Among the signees: Kerr, Lorena Ochoa, the No. 1 player in the world, and Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel, two of the best young American players on the tour. The letter calling for Bivens' resignation has been submitted to Dawn Hudson, chairman of the LPGA Board.

The player meeting was called two days after the tour announced its event in October in Kapalua had been cancelled for lack of a title sponsor. The LPGA has lost seven events since 2007, including all three of its Hawaii tournaments, and six other tournaments scheduled next year do not have sponsors. A total of 14 events are up for renewal this year, and Kapalua was the third event that had to be scratched from this year's schedule.

The letter to the board emphasized that all of the tour's problems can not be blamed on a poor economy. Players also said it was imperative to rebuild relationships with long-time sponsors of the women's game who have dropped out of the picture during Bivens' reign.

A former marketing executive with Gannett, Bivens was named commissioner in September, 2007 and almost immediately became embroiled in controversy involving onerous media regulations a number of news organizations, including the Associated Press, refused to sign.

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Last year, she took major criticism for a policy she supported that would have forced international LPGA players to become fluent in English, or else face the possibility of being suspended or losing their playing privileges. The policy, which was never adapted, was mainly directed toward the rising number of Korean players on the tour, many of whom strongly objected.

But the biggest concern these days involves the number of cancelled events, including a shrinking schedule of domestic tournaments in the U.S. After the Open this week, the tour will only play five more times in this country. The PGA Tour, in comparison, will have 10 more events in the U.S. after the British Open next week.

According to tour spokesman David Higdon, Bivens was unavailable to comment Tuesday. He said she will be at the Open on Thursday, but did not expect her to comment then, either. Instead, he released a statement that read: "This is an important week for the players and the LPGA, and we're focused first and foremost on the U.S. Women's Open. The LPGA players, staff and board are all working hard to achieve the same long-term objective to grow our tour. It's not in the best interest of women's golf to discuss internal matters."

Three weeks ago at the LPGA Championship in Maryland, Bivens also was conspicuous by her absence in the media center. She did not hold a news conference at the tour's signature major championship event (now also without a sponsor or a venue for next year) and declined interview requests from reporters during the week.

Several players interviewed here Tuesday said they would stay silent in fairness to the USGA. Helen Alfreddson, one of the players on the board, insisted she was not aware of what was in the letter, even though several sources said she attended the meeting in Toledo.

Veteran Kris Tschetter, runner-up in the 1996 U.S. Open, said she thought Bivens initially had some good ideas on a future business model for the tour, but almost immediately alienated a number of host cities and sponsors by imposing more costly rights fees for an LPGA event.

"The mistake she made is that she walked in and said 'this is what we're going to do,' and she did not get a lot of people on her side," Tschetter said. "Tournament directors didn't like her because they felt she was telling them 'my way or the highway.' Someone else might have been wiser to go a little slower with it. She was not as willing to be creative as these economic times probably would have called for.

"The bottom line is we want to play tournaments. My goodness, some of these younger girls are probably thinking we're only going to have 10 events [in the U.S.] next year. The players are thinking we've got to do whatever it takes to get this thing right. I understand both sides of it. But you just hear too many tournament directors and sponsors saying she's too hard to deal with."

Angela Stanford, who tied for second in 2003 Open, said she did not attend the Toledo session but added, "I have complete faith that the board will do the right thing ... I want what's best for this tour. It's my ninth year on this tour, and who am I to say what's best? At the same time, losing tournaments is tough on players on the money list. Whether you're 22nd or 122nd, it's tough for everybody."

Asked if she would have signed that letter calling for Bivens' resignation, she said "I can't answer that."

One long-time player agent said Tuesday he's now hearing it's only a matter of time before Bivens, with 18 months left on her original contract, will be history, and sooner possibly than later. Potential replacements might include Donna Orender, a former PGA Tour executive now the commissioner of the WNBA, and Cindy Davis, a former LPGA executive who is now president of Nike Golf.

My own first choice would be Judy Rankin, a Hall of Fame player, first-class network broadcaster and a highly respected woman with the personality and temperament to mend many of the fences Bivens has battered or knocked down over the last three years, and she probably could do it in a hurry.

Stay tuned.

Leonard Shapiro can be reached at Badgerlen@aol.com.