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FanHouse Carolyn Bivens

Latest Carolyn Bivens Stories

Big Challenge for New LPGA Boss

Posted: Oct 29th 2009 3:30PM by Mick Elliott (author feed)
Filed under: LPGA

0 COMMENTS
It's not as if Michael Whan does not know what he's getting into.

Before being introduced Wednesday as the new LPGA commissioner, Whan, 44, served as North American vice-president/general manager of TaylorMade Golf. According to the LPGA's announcement, his business unit represented more than 70 percent of the company's worldwide sales and profit.

And prior to working at TaylorMade Whan spent time with Wilson Sporting Goods managing all aspects of the company's golf ball and glove business. He even brings experience heading Wilson's marketing department, two manufacturing facilities and the Research & Development division.

So what's a smart guy like Whan doing getting himself into a mess like this?
Continue Reading Big Challenge for New LPGA Boss

Whan Named LPGA Commissioner

Posted: Oct 28th 2009 11:12AM by FanHouse Newswire (author feed)
Filed under: LPGA

0 COMMENTS
NEW YORK (AP) -- The LPGA Tour has picked Michael Whan to be its new commissioner, turning to a former marketing executive in golf and hockey equipment to rebuild the tour's relationships with sponsors.

Whan previously worked for TaylorMade and Wilson golf companies and most recently was president of Mission-Itech Hockey.

"I was that crazy high school kid cutting greens at 5:30 in the morning so he could play free golf in the afternoon and caddying on Sundays," Whan said Wednesday, during an introductory news conference at Madison Square Garden.
Continue Reading Whan Named LPGA Commissioner

Can LPGA Survive Without Marketing Sex Appeal?

Posted: Jul 29th 2009 12:55PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: LPGA

6 COMMENTS

(photos courtesy of Getty Images)

Anna Rawson has outlined her five-point plan for saving the LPGA, and, frankly, I think she's onto something. The tour is struggling to keep sponsors and it's without a marquee player to market to the masses. The former is due primarily to poor management decisions, the latter is just bad luck.

So can women's professional golf survive without a bona fide star? Will they need to rely on other, less traditional means of attracting fans? Rawson's strategy weighs elements of both while Golfweek's Alistair Tait wonders if the LPGA's future hinges on Michelle Wie.
Continue Reading Can LPGA Survive Without Marketing Sex Appeal?

Anna Rawson Can Fix the LPGA

Posted: Jul 28th 2009 6:30PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: LPGA, PGA, Golf Odds and Ends

13 COMMENTS
Anna Rawson earned her LPGA Tour card 18 months ago. She played in 13 events in 2008, made five cuts and cashed $62,798 worth of checks. This year, she's played the weekend just three times in 11 tries, and has made $36,337.

If not for her physical appearance, Rawson's a non-story. In general, nobody cares about a professional golfer whose average tournament round is north of 73. Well, unless they look like this.

Which is the only reason Rawson remains relevant. I suppose making inflammatory comments about lesbians and ugly people doesn't hurt, either. Whatever your thoughts on Rawson the golfer, she knows how to market herself. And for the women's tour, marketing is their biggest problem. (Former commissioner Carolyn Bivens can confirm as much.)

So while Rawson shouldn't be holding any pre-tournament clinics, she's perfectly qualified to weigh in on how to fix the tour's image problem. She gives ESPN her five-step plan:
Continue Reading Anna Rawson Can Fix the LPGA

Commissioner's Ouster Won't Save LPGA

Posted: Jul 9th 2009 9:00PM by Greg Couch (author feed)
Filed under: LPGA

36 COMMENTS
Did you see what happened Thursday in the first round of the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament?

Just kidding. No one saw. No one is watching. That's not new. The most amazing and interesting thing about the game has nothing to do with actual golf. Instead, it's how this entire sport in unraveling. Right now. On the first day of its most important event.

The LPGA tour commissioner, Carolyn Bivens, didn't even come to the tournament. Reports surfaced on Thursday that Bivens has accepted a buyout to step down. This after players drafted a letter demanding she resign.
Continue Reading Commissioner's Ouster Won't Save LPGA

Ochoa, Creamer, Kerr, Pressel All Sign Letter Calling for Bivens' Resignation

Posted: Jul 7th 2009 9:20AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: LPGA

18 COMMENTS
On Monday came word that 15 LPGA Tour players -- at the time, anonymous -- signed a letter calling for the resignation of commissioner Carolyn Bivens. Golf Digest's Ron Sirak writes that four of the signatures belonged to some of the biggest names in women's golf: Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel.

Ochoa is currently the No. 1 ranked player, Creamer is 4th, Kerr is 5th, and Pressel is 24th. It's one thing for the rank and file to be frustrated by perceived managerial incompetence, it's something else entirely when it's the Tour's best players -- and its biggest attractions. (And, yes, the irony of what it means to be an LPGA attraction isn't lost on me. Or Ochoa et al, for that matter.)
Continue Reading Ochoa, Creamer, Kerr, Pressel All Sign Letter Calling for Bivens' Resignation

Carolyn Bivens Reportedly Asked to Step Down as LPGA Commissioner

Posted: Jul 6th 2009 9:00PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: LPGA, Golf Odds and Ends

3 COMMENTS
Carolyn BivensCarolyn Bivens is the LPGA commissioner, which, considering she has to convince the world that women's golf is super-awesome, isn't "easy," per se (although it beats dragging a lunch pail to a steel mill). So, yeah: kind of a tough job.

But considering that the LPGA has lost seven (!) tournaments over the past two years, it's not unreasonable to assume that Bivens could be doing better work. Which may explain why, according to a report, that many LPGA players are calling for Bivens' resignation.
Continue Reading Carolyn Bivens Reportedly Asked to Step Down as LPGA Commissioner

Softball Game Breaks Out at Girl Fight

Posted: Jun 30th 2009 1:55PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Action Sports, Women's Sports, Youth Sports

0 COMMENTS
Here's something you don't see everyday. Or at least I don't (primarily because, other than the occasions when it's on my television, I've lost the remote, and I'm too lazy to change the channel, I happily admit to not following softball.): a fight breaking out during a game after a player was hit by a pitch.

But that's what happened yesterday at a girls high school game in Colorado Springs.
Continue Reading Softball Game Breaks Out at Girl Fight

LPGA Commissioner Would Welcome Players Using Twitter During Round

Posted: May 28th 2009 5:10PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: LPGA, PGA

3 COMMENTS
LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens made news last year for the tour's peculiar language requirement. The policy was short-lived, but it's one of those things you can easily point to as an example of why the LPGA struggles to remain both relevant and solvent.

Bivens understands as much (although misguided, her attempt to get international tour players to learn English was to help broaden the sport's appeal). Which is why she'd support LPGA players using their Twitter machines during their round.
Continue Reading LPGA Commissioner Would Welcome Players Using Twitter During Round

Anna Rawson Wants You to Call Her

Posted: Sep 11th 2008 10:15AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Golf, LPGA

19 COMMENTS
This seems like a great idea: Anna Rawson, runway model and member of the LPGA Tour, has decided to give out her cell phone number, presumably to make it easier for all the, ahem, wackjobs and would-be stalkers to pursue their creepy hobbies.



Through August 24, Rawson was 150th on the LPGA money list ($26,586). In case it's not clear: that's a lot of bad golf. For some perspective, Lorena Ochoa, the world No. 1, has earned nearly 100 times what Rawson's pulled down in '08, which explains why the Aussie is looking to market herself off the course as well.
And when [Rawson's] not at the course, she keeps tabs on the other part of her professional life, which has included a two-page spread in the current issue of "Men's Health" magazine and a new venture - cell phone messaging. Rawson is the first professional golfer to establish a cell phone number her fans can call and leave messages for her.

Only four weeks old, the number - 213-785-7675 - allows her fans to leave personal messages. She said she has started listening to the messages and is going to return some of the calls.
Continue Reading Anna Rawson Wants You to Call Her

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