In Galloway's estimation, passable English is "vital" for LPGA pros in three areas: dealing with the media, victory speeches and interacting during the five-hour pro-am rounds. The tour provides a small number of on-site translators who can help in the press room and during trophy ceremonies, but the players are on their own during the pro-ams, which are an important part of the LPGA business model, as much of the money generated goes toward the tournament purses. (The LPGA, with a total purse this year of $59 million, has minimal network television presence; the PGA Tour's $285 million purse comes largely from its rain-making TV deals.) Foursomes often pay into the low five-figures to participate in the pro-ams, and what these avid fans (or schmoozing corporate types) are buying is the chance to interact with their pro.
For years, the dominance of international players has been a hot-button issue in women's golf. There are 121 international players representing 26 countries on the LPGA tour. Forty-five are South Korean, and this summer they combined to win eight times in an 11-tournament stretch, including two major championships. Last Sunday, Cristie Kerr became just the third American to win an LPGA tournament this year.
Jan Stephenson created a media firestorm in 2003 when she said in a Golf Magazine interview that "Asians are killing our tour," and a prominent player agent, who has also helped run LPGA tournaments, expressed a similar sentiment to GOLF.com. "I am thrilled everyone is going to have to speak English, and I can tell you it's been advocated behind the scenes for a long time. The LPGA has built its reputation on the players being accessible and fan-friendly, and the girls who don't speak English are destroying that. If you pay $15,000 to play in a pro-am, you want more than a handshake and a smile on the first and last hole."
Despite potentially inflammatory statements like these, Galloway does not seem concerned about player reaction. "We are not expecting a backlash of any kind because as we have presented the new regulation to our players they have been overwhelmingly supportive," she said. The LPGA is just beginning a two-week hiatus on its schedule, so a full accounting of player sentiment will have to wait for next month's Bell Micro LPGA Classic. But several prominent South Korean players were quoted in Golfweek magazine, which first reported the story, and they were not openly critical.
There is a larger context for the timing of the LPGA's new initiative. The tour's demographic shift has accelerated just as the current economic downturn has hit the tour particularly hard; it is likely that four domestic tournaments will disappear from the schedule next year as sponsors drop out. Galloway says the LPGA is simply trying to maximize the marketability of all its players.
"We are a U.S.-based tour, and English is the language used by the vast majority of our sponsors and fans and media," Galloway said. "It is vital that our players can communicate with these core audiences. This is sports entertainment. How we present ourselves is important."
