Members of the LPGA Tour, past and present, met at Germantown Country Club Monday to participate in a charity event to benefit the Breast
Cancer Eradication Initiative. Amid the laughs, and smiles and wayward tee shots, several pro golfers found time to address a serious issue: the LPGA Tour’s future. LPGA legend Pat Bradley was among the stars at Monday’s charity event at Germantown Country Club. Kathy Whitworth, who won 88 tournaments in her LPGA career, says the tour needs to cut down on events outside the U.S. if its fan base is to grow. ”I think anybody you talk to right now, regardless of the job they have, there is concern,” said , ranked in the top 10 on this year’s money list. ”I think we realize as professional athletes that we are entertainment. I think that puts us in a tough spot. When people just need to take care of their basic needs, we are outside of that. ”We just have to keep doing the best we can to entertain people and remind people when we play our tournaments we are giving back to the communities, and we are giving back to charities. I think that sometimes gets lost in the mix. People think we are just playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Stanford, participating in her eighth straight at GCC, is playing the best golf of her career. A winner at the SBS Open in Hawaii to open the season, Stanford, 31, had six top 5 finishes in six events — including two titles — from late 2008 through the SBS Open. She’s fourth on the Official Money List this week. ”It’s definitely the best stretch of my career,” she said. ”Golf is a funny sport. Sometimes it just all comes together, and that’s kind of what’s happened. I feel great about my swing and my short game. It just seems like it has all, finally, come together.”
Among other challenges the Tour faces in the U.S. — besides a television contract that expires after this year — is the sport’s growing popularity in South Korea. , second on the money list, and Na Yeon Choi, 10th on the list, are from South Korea.