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Whan makes good with Thompson decision

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Mike Whan made a very good move with his handling of the Lexi Thompson situation. Allowing a player 12 sponsor invitations would have cheapened the membership of the tour, but by opening the Monday qualifiers to non LPGA members, Whan has doused any flames which could have arisen from the Thompson petition and made a long overdue adjustment to LPGA policy.

When the qualifiers were only open to LPGA members, it was sometimes an embarrassment to look at the results sheet from the Monday ‘two-spots.’

Last year, on more than one occasion, only four players showed up and their scores were not always competitive. A dozen players competing on a Monday was almost unheard of.

This, during an era when players are desperate for spots in tournaments – the LPGA Futures Tour had over 300 players in their qualifying school last year – comes at a perfect time.

By opening the Monday qualifiers, the tour is giving literally hundreds more players the opportunity to play their way into a domestic LPGA field and the tour will hopefully earn a little money in the process. All entrants pay an entry fee and, if officials can get their cost structure right, Monday should be a lucrative day for the tour, and perhaps for the next young bright American star.