By Fred Altvater
Jim Brown knew. Barry Sanders knew. The greats always know, but stay past their prime for one more shot at glory, trying to capture youth in a bottle for one more adrenalin rush.
Michael Whan came to the LPGA, in 2010, when it was at its absolute lowest point. The previous commissioner had burnt bridges with several tournament sponsors. The number of events and purses were declining, plus fan’s perception of the women’s professional golf tour was not favorable. The players were not happy. The tour was on the verge of extinction.
A secret meeting was held in the upstairs room at Mancy’s Steakhouse in Toledo just prior to the Marathon Classic. The decision was made, current LPGA Commissioner, Carolyn Blevins had to go. A new leader for the tour needed to be found.
In the 11 years since, Michael Whan had his first meeting as commissioner, with the tour membership, it has become one of the best run and most profitable sports organizations in the world. Sponsors are lining up to open their wallets for larger purses, plus the LPGA is seen by more fans worldwide, than ever before.
LPGA Tour legend Carol Mann related the first time she met Commissioner Whan, 
“The players were having a meeting in California and Michael took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and asked what he could do for them. He won everyone over that day and never stopped working to improve the LPGA Tour for the players.”
Whan is coming off the most trying season of his tenure, but has the tour set for their best year ever in 2021, with 35 events and $76.5 million in total prize money.
The greats know when their time is up, Michael knows that time for him is now.
Whan hired good people and turned the negatives into positives. His team embraced social media and the women bought in. They even put each player’s Twitter Handle on the caddie’s back. He made sure LPGA Tour players became the most outgoing and approachable professional athletes on the planet.
One negative had been that the LPGA didn’t play enough tournaments on American soil and the majority of those were won by international players. The LPGA embraced that notion and promoted themselves as a world tour with the best from every country vying to win each week.
International players were encouraged to learn English and the use of interpreters in press interviews decreased.
New contracts were made with the Golf Channel and every week, television brought the LPGA into hundreds of thousands of homes filled with young girls, who saw an opportunity and realized professional golf could be a viable career path.
New events were added nearly every year. The International Crown added a national team event. The Evian Championship became a fifth major and the Solheim Cup has grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
2020 was probably his biggest success, with so much hope at the beginning of the year. Record purses and increased number of events, plus the Olympics, would bring women’s golf to an even a larger worldwide audience. Then COVID reared its ugly head.
The pandemic affected the LPGA before any other sports league in this country was affected. Three events in the Asian Swing in February had to be cancelled. More would follow and the tour would not resume until late July.
Whan attended Miami University in Ohio and quickly rose through the ranks at Procter and Gamble after graduation, before he was lured to the LPGA.
He has a deep devotion to the women he serves as commissioner and every decision is made with their collective best interests at heart.
On a personal note, I want to thank Commissioner Whan for being forthright, outgoing and always available to chat. He is the most personable and knowledgeable sports executive I have ever had the pleasure to be associated and he will be sorely missed.
We wish him continued success in his next endeavor.
