First Female Commissioner of the LPGA

Kudos to Ms. Vesper-Bivens. She does not have an easy road ahead of her. The LPGA has many problems, some I've blogged about in earliers posts at TFM. What troubles me is Vesper-Bivens says this organization doesn't need to fixed. I think the absolute opposite, alot of work needs to be done to save the tour. I do wish her good luck.

The whole article can be found at Yahoo news.

LPGA Selects Bivens to Replace Votaw as Commissioner
Former Newspaper Executive Is LPGA's First Woman Leader
By DOUG FERGUSON, AP


PINEHURST, N.C. (June 15) - Carolyn Vesper Bivens was hired Wednesday as the first female commissioner in the 55-year history of the LPGA Tour, taking over a sport driven by the success of Annika Sorenstam and the potential of teenagers like Michelle Wie.

Bivens will replace Ty Votaw, who is stepping down after seven years.

For the last four years, Bivens was president and CEO of Initiative, a media planning and buying company. She previously was the associate publisher of USA Today, where she also had been senior vice president of advertising.

"My hope is to keep the momentum going," Bivens, 52, said in a telephone interview. "This is not an organization that needs to be fixed."

Bivens has a background in marketing and a love for golf, having been a member at Congressional Country Club for 22 years before moving to California.

She started at USA Today in circulation marketing and ended up in advertising until being chosen as associate publisher. All along, the running joke at the newspaper was that her dream job was to run the LPGA Tour.

"They roasted me with a sports page naming me commissioner of the Senior LPGA for my 40th birthday," Bivens said.

She left for Initiative to learn how to run a business and didn't think much about the LPGA job when Votaw announced in January that this would be his last year as commissioner. Votaw, 42, has not said what he plans to do next.