LPGA stars heap praise on Mike Whan for bolstering Tour tournaments
Of all the LPGA stars gearing up to kick off the Kingsmill Championship 2012 on September at Williamsburg, Virginia, it is hard to find one who does not speak highly of the Tour and its Director Mike Whan.
The Kingsmill Championship, which is set to begin this Thursday, has gone through a pretty rough time recently. The tournament has been around for over a decade, but has been played under different names since
it was first launched in 2003.
The new name is Kingsmill Championship, but the tournament has a decade-long history of providing players and fans with plenty of excitement. From 2004 to 2009, the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association)
tournament had been played under the title of Michelob Ultra Open.
Analysts said that the change of tournament’s name is not going to make any difference as players think that it is field that makes an event special — not titles.
Cristie Kerr of the United States is more than thrilled about the tournament coming to Kingsmill once again after a break of two years. Kerr has won the two titles of the tournament and boasts a stunning profile.
Commentators said that the presence of players like Kerr will spice up the already-hyped tournament. They said that the field is not just limited to the two-time winner, there will also be contenders like current
world number one Yani Tseng, Paula Creamer, Stacy Lewis, Natalie Gulbis, Michelle Wie, Brittany Lang, Azahara Munoz, Sandra Gal, Ai Miyazato, Na Yeon Choi, Mika Miyazato, Juli Inkster, Beth Bader, Lorie Kane, Christina Kim, Morgan Pressel, Jin Young Pak, Meena
Lee, Brittany Lincicome and Alena Sharp.
Players have heaped praise on Mike Whan for making the coming tournament more special for players and fans. “Since the first day we met Mr. Whan, he's been very upbeat. He's very much a team player, not looking
out for himself. He runs ideas by us, which is really neat," said Lincicome.
Kerr, who won the 2009 edition of the tournament, also praised Whan for his efforts in improving the LPGA Tour. “Our tour was not in good shape, and losing Kingsmill was like adding insult to injury. Mike Whan
has done great things to repair the relationships that were damaged, and he's found new business. He's a business guy,” she said.
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