Monday, September 9, 2013

Evian Championship Questions

The LPGA's 5th and final major of 2013 is here:  the Evian Championship.  Tony Jesselli provides his usual high-quality preview, but a few questions have occurred to me and I'd love to hear what you think!

  • It appears that the field of 120 is made up entirely of LPGA and LET members (plus Lydia Ko).  Do you think the tournament organizers should have reserved spots for the top KLPGA and JLPGA golfers to round out the field?  Or is exempting the top 40 from the Rolex Rankings as of 3 September 2013 enough?
  • This year's tournament has been scheduled opposite majors on both the KLPGA and JLPGA.  Do you think that the tournament organizers should seek to avoid such conflicts in the future, particularly if they want top golfers from those tours to make the trip to Evian-les-Bains?
  • Check out the course description at LPGA.com and the course overview and course map at the Evian site.  The course has been renovated and some holes have been redesigned or created from scratch--for details, see the press kit.  The most dramatic change to me is that the 18th hole has gone from being a short par 5 to the longest par 4 on the course.  What do you think of that?  I'm willing to be convinced it's a good idea.  I love the way anything can happen on short closing par 5s, so I'm fairly skeptical.
  • Does this feel like a major to you yet?  Is 1.5 hours on network TV enough for a major?
[Update 1 (9/11/13, 5:55 am):  Check out Ruthless Mike's thoughtful answers to my questions!]

[Update 2 (4:35 pm):  Fantastic yes to my 4th question from Brent Kelley!]

2 comments:

IceCat said...

1.5 hours of network TV is as much as Comcast/NBC can spare, apparently; they're committed to covering British soccer on Saturday right before the guys tee off near Chicago. Heaven forbid if they need more than 1.5hrs on Sunday because it will overlap into PGA coverage

diane said...

Can an event be considered a major by fans and the media simply because a couple of organizations (LPGA & LET) have declared it so? Call me cynical, but until Golf Channel treats Evian like a major, it's not.

If Inbee Park wins, thus claiming four majors in one calendar year, will she be feted as though she had won the US Open? Not even close.

It will take a few years and better scheduling to give it the media attention Evian as a major deserves.