And the new commissioner for the LPGA Tour is (drum roll please):
Mollie Marcoux Samah.
Who?
Yes, that’s the typical reaction from the world of golf and anyone not associated with the Princeton University athletic program.
The LPGA Board of Directors selected Ms. Samah this week as successor to Michael Whan.
Needless to say, Samah has a very, very tough act to follow.
It was a surprise somewhat. Big difference between running an Ivy League sports program and heading an international golf tour.
Of course the PR geeks at LPGA Tour headquarters prepared the proper propaganda:
Diane Bulyas, the Chair of the LPGA Tour’s Board of Directors and the head of their search committee, gave this lip service:
“Our selection of Mollie Marcoux Samaan as the LPGA’s next Commissioner is the outcome of an extensive and deliberate search process. The position attracted a diverse group of outstanding internal and external candidates, all passionate about the LPGA. We concluded that Mollie is the right leader to guide the LPGA’s next chapter of growth, impact and achievement.”
As far as golf experience, prior to Princeton, she worked for the parent company of Chelsea Piers — Chelsea Piers Management.
That company owns and operates two world-class amateur sports complexes, Chelsea Piers New York and Chelsea Piers Connecticut.
As far as golf goes, she is a member at North Fork Country Club in Cutchogue, New York. She’s won the women’s club championship there five times and today her handicap is 7.4.
She’s married to Andrew Samah and they have three children.
LPGA Match Play At Shadow Creek Missing Some Big Names:
The LPGA has its own Match Play Championship going this week at a very well known, very private club in Las Vegas — Shadow Creek.
Shadow Creek was the host of the big Phil Mickelson-Tiger Woods match, won by Mickelson.
The women’s format is pretty much the same as it was for the PGA Tour. Players are divided into 16 groups of four with round-robin matches. After the round robin play, the point-leaders in each of the 16 groups advance to the knock-out rounds.
World No. 1 Jin Young Ko is the top seed followed by No. 2 Inbee Park and No. 3 Sei Young Kim.
American Danielle Kang is finally back in action after about a month off but there are some missing American stars including Lexi Thompson and both the Korda sisters — Jessica and Nelly.
The tournament runs Tuesday through Saturday.
6 Comments
baxter cepeda
Maybe the board just picked the person from the best college.
Some say to worry about any leader with a solid golf game, but she deserves a chance.
It’s certainly a tough act to follow, especially considering the lpga still has so much room for growth; so maintaining Whans momentum will be real pressure. Hopefully all that golf has prepared Marcoux Samah for that.
I truly wish her the best.
Tom Edrington
Whan was so great a bringing big money sponsors to the women…..he was a great salesman; People from academia understand none of that….
baxter cepeda
That’s the concern.
Let’s hope she understands she’s not needed for day to day operations or involvement some programs; on whatever. She’s supposed to be there to continue bringing more money and more tournament opportunities.
But again, let’s give her a chance.
Tom Edrington
It’s their choice and she’s the one with a tough act to follow; The old saying in the Bear Bryant era was no one wanted to follow him as the next Alabama coach and that proved very true; Hope the Princeton lady realizes what a high bar Mike Whan set…..by the way, how in the heck did Natalie Gulbis get a spot in the match play in Vegas??
baxter cepeda
Gulbis has some serious star connections… especially in Sin city.
It is Nice to see Natalie and Paula still; both still have some star power. Paula is a true legend.
Aside from struggles with the flat stick Gulbis has had a lot of back problems; her move thru impact reminds of Niemann, which many have expressed some concern; Although his body seems more equipped to handle that head move thru the ball.
Her star has been fading but For people of a certain age She’s still about as big a name as there is on the lpga tour with just one win.
But I agree. This awesome match play event should be more like a wGc; where even Tiger has to earn his way in.
Tom Edrington
It was a number of years ago at the PGA Merchandise Show, was in line to get through the TaylorMade area and who’s standing right behind me, yeah, Natalie; I turned, we looked at each other and all I could think to say was: “You look even better in person than you do on TV.” She flashed a huge smile and said: “Thank-you!”