LPGA commish Mike Whan explains tour's 2-week Olympic break
The LPGA Tour has gone dark since the Ricoh Women’s British Open, taking two weeks off after the season’s fourth major in preparation for the women’s Olympic golf tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
The approach is a contrast to the PGA Tour, which, two weeks before the men’s tournament, saw the end of the PGA Championship, followed by the Travelers Championship the week prior and the John Deere Classic serving as the opposite-field event, of sorts, for the 60-player men’s field.
LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said Tuesday that, while a break in August wasn’t ideal, that it was the only way his players could participate in the Olympics and not feel like they’re losing ground on their peers.
“I didn’t feel comfortable with 40 players to come play in the Olympics and find that they’re falling behind on the schedule,” Whan said in Brazil, according to Golf Channel. “Other sports take a break and say this is what we’re looking at. I didn’t want to compete with the Olympics, I wanted to put the light on the Olympics.”
Whan also said it would have been a tough sell to sponsors to have events leading into and opposite of this week’s tournament, which starts Wednesday. He wanted to make sure the players seized the opportunity of the Olympic stage, and he couldn’t guarantee that by jamming this tournament into a business-as-usual schedule.
“I have a difficult time looking at somebody who is 25th on the money list and say ‘great job at the Olympics but now you’re 29th on the money list,’” Whan said. “That didn’t seem like it was going to play for us.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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