Ty Votaw to Step Down After 2005

The commissioner of the LPGA tour, Ty Votaw has announced today that he will resign after the 2005 season. Votaw has been the commissioner of the LPGA tour for the past seven years. During his tenure, the tour has seen unprecedented growth. Before Votaw, the average purse of an LPGA tour event was $840,000 and only 12 tournaments had total purses of over $1 million. Now, the LPGA has 30 tournaments with total purses over $1 million and the average tournament purse has risen to $1.4 million. Votaw’s decision came as a surprise to many, considering the popularity of the LPGA with superstars like Annika Sorenstam and no shortage of talent from youngsters like Paula Creamer. Still, Votaw has decided to leave on top, “I feel very much at peace with this decision. I feel very good about having given the LPGA everything I’ve got, and I feel good about the results.”

As commissioner, Votaw weathered many controversies including Annika Sorenstam competing on the PGA tour, Jan Stephenson’s remarks about Asians on the LPGA, and his relationship with LPGA player Sophie Gustafson. Votaw and the LPGA triumphed over all these issues and have become both a very talented and profitable tour. While his predecessors had focused on increasing the number of events on the LPGA tour, Votaw strove to improve the quality of the events. He trimmed the events from 38 down to 33 and now offers a $45 million total purse, the highest in the history of the LPGA.