These Girls Rock!” is a new campaign designed to inject excitement into the LPGA Tour. The LPGA website places blurbs in the upper-right-hand corner of the main page which read “Natalie Gulbis qualified for an LPGA Tournament at 14 years old” and “Annika shoots a 59.” That’s all well and good but the public really seemed to take notice when the under-eighteen set took to the fairways.
From seventeen-year old Morgan Pressel who kicked and screamed her way through eighteen holes to tie for second place at the Open to the flushed face of fifteen-year old Michelle Wie double-bogeying her way through the final round audiences caught a glimpse into the future of the Tour. Frankly, I want to see more!
Although the LPGA currently allows younger players to compete through sponsor’s exemptions I believe that more leeway should be given to these youngsters under certain circumstances. Perhaps they should be allowed to play in more tournaments during the summer when school is not in session. A few of these amateurs play as good as their professional counterparts! Just look at Michelle Wie. She’s only fifteen and she turns up on the top of the leaderboard more often than top-five professionals. The problem associated with this radical idea is “How young is too young to turn professional?”
Outgoing LPGA Commissioner Ty Votaw believes that the age to become a member of the professional ladies tour should remain at eighteen. After careful consideration I believe he is being quite reasonable.
Amateurs who play on tour are currently allowed six sponsor’s exemptions. This gives younger players the opportunity to get a “taste” of their possible futures while finishing high school and maturing before turning professional.
Also, give a fifteen-year old a $200,000 paycheck and see how the money gets spent! They’re still teenagers. Most of their time is spent at the mall and their money goes towards CDs, clothing, and if the money starts to grow, shiny new automobiles and expensive jewelry.
As an amateur they can concentrate solely on learning from the pros and gain excitement at the prospect of playing in larger, more important events such as the recent U.S. Women’s Open. They may still be thinking of the dollars they could receive but the payday becomes less important than representing themselves honorably.
On the flip side, the media attention received by the introduction of these younger players is enormous. The LPGA could use this kind of boost to create larger paydays for the professionals on tour. Sort of like Social Security. Younger players put in their time and the older ones get the benefit.
Votaw is right in establishing an age limit to becoming a professional tour player. Benefits can be looked at in different ways. Once the tweens realize that “money isn’t everything” they’ll be more apt to take on the Bobby Jones approach… glory solely for the sake of the game.