Less than a month after completing the Herculean task of putting together a robust 2021 LPGA schedule, LPGA commissioner Mike Whan has announced his decision to leave the tour in 2021.
Whan shared the news on Wednesday with staff, members and sponsors via a letter, saying that he would never leave the LPGA if the future was uncertain or if momentum wasn’t trending in the right direction. Whan, who turns 56 in February, completed his 11th year with the LPGA, the longest tenure of any commissioner. No exact date has been set for his departure.
“One of the hardest jobs of a leader is to know when their work is done,” Whan wrote in the letter. “If the COVID-19 pandemic taught me anything, it was that the LPGA executive staff has full control of our business and is capable of incredible things. We have leaders who are visionary, compassionate, collaborative and humble. You may not agree with every decision they make, but they have led our Tours to new heights virtually every year.”
The tour had only 24 tournaments and official prize money of $41.4 million when Whan took over. The 2021 schedule, while still in the midst of a global pandemic, has a record $76.45 million and 34 official events.
“The LPGA is poised for even greater heights; and as such, I’m excited to hand the baton to the next leader and become their biggest supporter.”
A letter from @LPGACommish Mike Whan ⬇️ https://t.co/f5fZdtDPIa
— LPGA (@LPGA) January 6, 2021
“I’m grateful for the time and work Mike put into this tour,” said veteran Angela Stanford. “In my opinion, he saved us twice. He has the right to move on, knowing he left the LPGA in a better place.”
Whan’s decision to embrace the global nature of the tour and his “Act Like a Founder” mantra for both staff and players helped bring the tour out of a downward spiral. He also made it a point to put the check writers first, a tactic that served the tour especially well in 2020 when strong relationships kept a schedule intact. The 2020 season was an absolute triumph, with only 42 positive COVID-19 tests out of the 7,200 that were given and every sponsor returning to the table in 2021.
Whan said he woke up Tuesday morning feeling really nervous for the first time in four years and it felt great.
This marks the third time he has left a really good job without another one lined up. At a family meeting, one of his sons noted that while it has worked out wonderfully before, he’s beginning to push his luck.
“I like to live my life pretty nervous, and I haven’t been really nervous in a while and I want to get back to that,” Whan said in an afternoon press conference. “I’m not exactly sure where that’s going to take me, but every time I’ve been this nervous in the past, the outcome has been pretty exciting.”
Whan said he doesn’t answer recruiter calls when he’s working. He prefers to give 100 percent to the task at hand, make a full stop to his mind and look for the next opportunity. It’s an unconventional approach that so far has served him well.
Whan was asked directly about the opening at the USGA. In September of last year, USGA CEO Mike Davis announced that he’d be stepping down from his role as CEO at the end of 2021.
“It’s certainly premature,” he said. “I think for any job, that one certainly included, requires a cleanse of my brain … requires both parties to think it’s a good idea.
“I feel like there will be opportunities. Probably there will be opportunities in golf, and I certainly think there will be opportunities in sport that are worth a solid look on both sides.”
Diane Gulyas, who spent 36 years at DuPont and is chair of the LPGA board of directors, called Whan a “transformational leader” and said a search committee already has been formed.
“I think anybody who comes in as a leader and tries to be a version of the last leader is going to fail whether they like it or not,” said Whan. “In this case, as I’ve said to Diane many times, the next person who walks in here, the only trait they have to have is to look at 2021 and say, ‘That’s nice, but we’d better not be there in 2025.’ ”
During Mike Whan's tenure as @LPGA commissioner, the #golf industry at large has seen increases in:
✅female participation
✅female representation among all golfers
✅female beginners
✅junior girls golfers
✅interest among women in playing golf— National Golf Foundation (@NGF_GolfBizInfo) January 6, 2021
The best advice he’d give to the person who replaces him? The fast-talking Whan said it’s important to listen first and that “culture is your job.”
Whan believes he didn’t really change the culture of the LPGA, more brought it back to its roots.
“I think I just kind of brought us back to what was important,” he said, “an understanding that check writers give us this ability, that our members are really our owners, they’re not just members of the association, but they really own this association.”
As for the timing of the decision, Whan said the pandemic gave him the visualization he needed that his team was ready to take charge and succeed during a crisis. And personally, he thrived at the challenge the pandemic presented.
“This is really embarrassing,” said Whan, “but I will tell you the pandemic was energizing for me because the world was voting against us again and the players didn’t think it was possible and sponsors were scared to death.
“I’m embarrassingly willing to admit that I thrive on that. It didn’t mean it was easy. It didn’t mean I always enjoyed it. But I got up every morning and realized that I didn’t have a good day, we didn’t have a good day, and that matters to me.”
Whan’s innovations – International Crown, Race to the CME Globe, Founders Cup, a partnership with the Ladies European Tour – are as impressive as the areas of growth, not only in the schedule but in TV viewership too. The women’s game – top to bottom – has never been stronger.
“I really thought of myself as a turnaround guy,” Whan said of when he first took the job. “I was going to help turn it around and they’d find a real golf person to run it when it wasn’t me.
“I fell in love. Just, it happens. I love this place. I love these people. I love the mission.”
