Votaw To Step Down at Close of 2005 Season posted 1-9-05

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 7, 2005 – Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Commissioner Ty M. Votaw today announced that 2005 will be his final year as the head of the LPGA. The 2005 season will mark Votaw’s seventh year as LPGA commissioner and his 14^th as an LPGA executive.

           

“Having the privilege to lead the LPGA will always be one of the highest honors of my professional life,” said Votaw. “While it was a difficult decision for me, it was made easier by the fact that the LPGA’s foundation is the strongest it has ever been in its 55-year history and the organization’s future is very, very bright.

           

“I am very thankful to the LPGA Board of Directors for providing me with the opportunity to serve as commissioner and am so very proud of what the membership has allowed the LPGA to accomplish during my tenure. I will always look back upon my time at the LPGA as one of the most rewarding times of my career.”

           

Votaw was named LPGA commissioner in March 1999, and his seven-year tenure will be the second-longest in LPGA history. Highlights of Votaw’s tenure include: the LPGA’s 50^th Anniversary celebration; the historic LPGA Player Summit in 2002, where the organization’s successful Fans First strategic business plan was introduced; the convening of the first-ever World Congress of Women’s Golf in 2004; and increasing economic opportunities for LPGA members.

           

In 1999, Votaw’s first year as commissioner, there were 12 LPGA tournaments with purses of at least $1 million or more and none with purses of $2 million or higher. In 2005, the LPGA schedule features 30 tournaments with purses of $1 million or more and four events offering at least $2 million. During that same period, the average purse rose from just more than $840,000 in 1999 to $1.4 million in 2005, with total prize money of $45 million this season, the most in LPGA history.

           

“The increased economic opportunities for our players is a direct result of two factors: the exponential growth of talent and entertainment value embodied by LPGA Tour members and the recognition and support of that talent and entertainment value by our fans, our tournaments and our sponsors,” said Votaw. “One couldn’t happen without the other, and I am deeply appreciative of the hard work everyone associated with the LPGA has done to make the LPGA stronger during my tenure.”

           

“Ty has made enormous contributions to the LPGA,” said Marguerite Sallee, chairman of the LPGA Board of Directors. “Under Ty’s leadership, the LPGA has significantly strengthened its foothold as the most successful women’s sports organization in the world, achieved unprecedented worldwide exposure and boasts one of the most globally diverse memberships in sports entertainment. The LPGA Board of Directors is very pleased that Ty will be available to play an important advisory role in our search for the organization’s next leader.”

           

“Ty has been a great leader for the LPGA,” said Heather Daly-Donofrio, president of the LPGA Tour and a member of the LPGA Board of Directors. “Ty has instituted many new initiatives for our organization, resulting in higher purses for our players, significant sponsorship support and increased television exposure for our Tour. On behalf of the entire Tour membership, I thank Ty for all he has done to strengthen the LPGA’s position as the No. 1 women’s sports organization in the world.”

 

 

 

            “On behalf of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional membership, I want to recognize the extraordinary commitment Ty has made to improve the entire LPGA organization,” said Patti Benson, LPGA Teaching and Club Professional national president and LPGA Board of Director member. “Throughout his tenure, Ty has made the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional membership a priority for the entire association. Our membership has grown and benefited greatly from Ty’s leadership through his support of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Strategic Action Plan as well as countless other initiatives. I look forward to working with him in 2005.”

 

“Ty’s support of the LPGA Corning Classic has been a driving force in its success,” said Jack Benjamin, tournament chairman of the LPGA Corning Classic and president of the LPGA Tournament Sponsors Association (TSA). “He has consistently been at the table to help us with our tournament planning decisions. Knowing Ty, and the energy he brings to the people he works with, I’m sure 2005 will be a banner year, not only for the Tour, but also in developing program partnerships with the LPGA TSA that will benefit all tournaments domestically and internationally.”

           

With the announcement from Votaw, the LPGA Board of Directors has established a Search Committee to identify candidates for the next LPGA commissioner.

           

“I am pleased to announce that the LPGA Board of Directors has finalized a Search Committee to identify qualified candidates for the association’s next commissioner,” said Sallee. “The search committee is being co-chaired by Heather Daly-Donofrio, president of the LPGA Tour, and Rae Forker Evans, one of the five independent members of the LPGA Board of Directors. The balance of the Search Committee is comprised of LPGA Board of Directors Patti Benson, Dawn Hudson and Charles S. Mechem Jr., commissioner emeritus of the LPGA, and LPGA Tour players Beth Daniel, Lorie Kane, Laura Davies and Deb Richard. LPGA TSA President Jack Benjamin will also serve on the Search Committee in an ex-officio non-voting capacity.”

 

 

This statement furnished by the LPGA Tour