Bivens Out As LPGA Commissioner

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Carolyn Bivens resigned as LPGA Tour commissioner Monday, bowing to pressure from players who were upset about the organization's economic woes and her leadership.

Marsha Evans ((pictured, thanks Getty Images)), a retired rear admiral in the Navy who also has led the American Red Cross and Girl Scouts of the USA, will take over as interim commissioner. She'll serve until the LPGA board finds a replacement, which it hopes to do by the end of the year.

Bivens' departure seemed increasingly likely after a group of players wrote a letter last week to the LPGA Tour's board of directors calling for her to quit. Her uncertain status created a distraction over the weekend during the U.S. Women's Open.

"We reached a point which made it difficult for Carolyn herself to see herself going forward and being able to lead in this environment," board chairwoman Dawn Hudson said. "We had to change something."

Hudson said Bivens' resignation was a mutual decision between the former commissioner and the LPGA's board of directors. She praised Bivens for helping the tour "think big" during a developing economic climate.

But Bivens' four-year tenure also was plagued with difficulties and controversies.

The tour has lost seven tournaments since 2007, and last year Bivens was widely criticized when she proposed an English-only policy for tour players. It was never instituted. The LPGA includes 121 international players from 26 countries, including 45 from South Korea.

In October 2006, she was accused by officials of the now-defunct tour event near Atlantic City, N.J., of backing out on a promise to maintain a longtime event.

"I love the LPGA and have been proud to serve as its commissioner for the last four years. I am also proud of what the LPGA has accomplished during my tenure," Bivens said in a statement Monday. "It is time to turn this organization over to someone who can build on the solid foundation we've established."

Bivens' supporters credited her with integrating another tour into the LPGA, securing ownership of the LPGA's own major tournament, upgrading the quality of courses, increasing coverage of child care, implementing the first drug-testing program in professional golf and signing new television partnerships.

"Carolyn did a lot of great things. She tried to stand up for the LPGA, which no one has done in a long time," said Juli Inkster, a tour veteran and member of the board. "I just think her delivery on the whole thing was not the best."

Evans has limited experience in professional golf; she only began serving on the LPGA board this year and her only prior work was on an LPGA commissioner's advisory council in 2007 and 2008.

She intends to stay in the job only while the job search for a permanent replacement continues. Her top priorities are reaching out to the players and signing up tournaments that currently are being negotiated despite an economic climate in which corporate sponsors are cutting costs.

"What I would hope during this period when I have the privilege of serving is that we can move beyond the controversies and really focus on the players," Evans said.

LPGA player and board member Christina Kim said it has been a "very interesting last 10 days" juggling the U.S. Open with numerous conference calls about the LPGA leadership. But she was thrilled with Evans' interim appointment.

"I haven't met anybody more compassionate, more compelling and with more passion for the future of the organization," Kim said.

The LPGA Tour also has appointed former star Annika Sorenstam as an adviser to the board of directors.

"She has relationships and a point of view about the golf world that I think will be helpful in some of our tournament negotiations," Hudson said. "She is able to understand things from a player's eyes but also understand from a business standpoint what some of the opportunities and obstacles are. She will be a sage voice in sometimes reconciling those two."

Inkster said some tournaments that are in danger of being canceled can be salvaged.

"Sometimes when you send a different team, a different delivery, things can work out," Inkster said.

Here's Part 1 of an interview with Bivens on "Beyond The Boardroom," thanks to our friends at Plum TV... CEO's interviewing CEO's...

Golfweek: LPGA Players Ask For Bivens Resignation

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A meeting last week of more than a dozen players has resulted in a letter sent to the LPGA Tour's board urging that commissioner Carolyn Bivens resign, according to a published report.

Golfweek magazine reported Monday that key players stated in the letter the LPGA Tour's woes cannot be blamed on a poor economy, and they said the tour should find a new leader to rebuild relationships with longtime sponsors.

The magazine cited a player who had received a copy of the letter.

Among those at the meeting last week in Toledo, Ohio., were Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel and Natalie Gulbis, among the most prominent players in women's golf.

Golfweek said players in favor of Bivens' resignation attached their names, although it didn't say how many signed it.

LPGA spokesman David Higdon did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The meeting came two days after the LPGA Tour lost another tournament when the Kapalua LPGA Classic asked for a year off to find a title sponsor. Instead, the LPGA said it would use all legal remedies to hold Kapalua to the remaining four years of its contract.

The tour has left two stops - Rochester, N.Y., and Toledo - uncertain if the contracts will be renewed for next year, and it already has lost the popular Corning Classic. Also up in the air is the Michelob Ultra Championship in Virginia.

The LPGA has lost seven tournaments since 2007, including all three events staged in Hawaii.

Seoul Broadcasting Systems was offended when Bivens announced during the SBS Open in Hawaii that it had a new television contract with another Korean network. That ended SBS' sponsorship, and it then signed a 10-year with the PGA Tour to sponsor the season-opening tournament at Kapalua, won this year by Geoff Ogilvy.

The U.S. Women's Open, which is not run by the LPGA Tour, is being played this week outside Philadelphia. After that, the LPGA Tour will not have another tournament in the United States until the last week in August.

Golfweek reported that at a player meeting last month at the State Farm Classic, players were told 10 contracts with title sponsors had been signed for 2010.

"We're getting to the point where we don't know who to believe, which is hard," Katherine Hull told the magazine. "When tournaments that have been very loyal to us start withdrawing, that's really a red flag to me."

Bivens, who took over for Ty Votaw in 2005, has two years remaining on her contract.

Como Se Dice "Backpedal...?"

In a move that surprises no one, the LPGA has decided to rescind its current attitude of making sure that its golfers passed the equivalent of the TOEFL before being allowed to show up on tour next year- or face stiff penalties... like not being able to win all their tournaments...

LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens ((pictured, thanks Getty Images/David Cannon)) is revising the idea and will have another version public by the end of the current year. This time, penalties will not be included.

On some level, you can understand where the LPGA is coming from... as a private institution, they need to promote their product. If the best golfers in their system are getting the lion's share of the paychecks and tape time, and they can't speak English fluently, the tour doesn't feel like they can promote effectively and efficiently.

But to pull the equivalent of a language lockout, has pole-vaulted any idea of fixing the problem.

The Commish sayeth... ahem... quote...

"After hearing the concerns, we believe there are other ways to achieve our shared objective of supporting and enhancing the business opportunities for every Tour player. In that spirit, we will continue communicating with our diverse Tour players to develop a better alternative. The LPGA will announce a revised approach, absent playing penalties, by the end of 2008."

The rest of Bivens' statement is hyah

The idea was revealed a few weeks ago with all the warmth of Ice Station Zebra. Major tour sponsor State Farm was even taken aback by the whole thing...

Amazing how this was announced just before a presser in Los Angeles where the Asian Pacific American Legal Center was set to go off on the tour...

Golf.com's coverage is right hyah
Doug Ferguson's work is at yahoo.com sports is hyah