Getting under their skin

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- Is Ty Votaw a pimp or just a growing pimple on the face of the sports world? That was the debate this past week at the Sybase Big Apple Classic.

In what is becoming as common an occurrence as Annika Sorenstam finishing in the top 3 (something the Swede has now done eight times in a row), the commissioner, the LPGA Tour and its five-points-of-celebrity-marketing scheme came under attack once again.

THE SHAG BAG After almost skipping the Sybase Big Apple Classic because she had previously never made a cut at Wykagyl Country Club, Gloria Park recorded her second career victory. But the Korean-born Park, who grew up in Australia, goes through caddies like water. Veteran Rob "Stick" Caliolo earned a victory in his second week on the job, but I bet he doesn't survive the rest of the year on Park's bag. ... Annika Sorenstam isn't playing in the prime-time Battle at Bighorn this year, but she will appear on CBS' Early Show Wednesday morning to give co-host Jane Clayson some golf tips. ... With her second second-place finish of the year, Hee Won Han already is drawing comparisons to Laura Baugh, who holds the LPGA season record with 10 runner-up finishes without a win. ... One a personal note, I'm extremely disappointed that Dottie Pepper will miss the rest of the season, including the Solheim Cup, because of an ongoing shoulder problem. I guess I will have to find someone else to pick on. Get well soon, Dottie. ... The Philippines president Fidel Ramos played in the pro-am last Wednesday and personally thanked Dorothy Delasin and Jennifer Rosales for making their country proud. ... After grabbing a share of the first-round lead Thursday with a 68, Minny Yeo collapsed in the second round, shooting 80 and missing the cut. "It was like going from heaven to hell," Yeo said. ... Former NCAA champion Candy Hannemann made her professional debut last week. But after posting back-to-back 77s, it looks like she needs a little more seasoning before heading to Q school this fall. ... Players were upset because the historically smooth-running, fast greens at Wykagyl putted more like construction-riddled Interstate 276. ... The best reaction from Tuesday's makeover seminar came after salon owner John Barrett, responding to an unnamed player's question about what to do with her bangs, said: "First of all, whoever cut your bangs last should have their scissors impounded." LPGA hairstylist Jan Butterfield preceded to throw her arms up in the air as if she were under arrest.

Last week's hit-and-run journalist was Ian O'Connor in USA Today. After attending 30 minutes of a Personal Style seminar Tuesday afternoon, O'Connor came out blasting, as if his ball was buried six feet in a bunker:

"Say goodbye to the 30th anniversary of Title IX and say hello to the birth of Titleist IX, the dangerous vision of a dashing carnival barker named Ty Votaw, a just-spell-my-name-right commissioner in hot pursuit of the red-blooded American male. Votaw needs his attention and disposable income to rescue the LPGA from obscurity, and figures the surest way to get both is to ask his women to shape up, dress up and play the skins game all day long."

O'Connor's comments came the day after a panel of experts -- fashion designer Vera Wang; cosmetics manufacturer Trish McEvoy; hairstylist John Barrett; and Hal Rubenstein, fashion features editor for InStyle -- gave 60-plus LPGA players tips on how to make themselves look more presentable on the course and, especially, in front of the cameras. During the two-hour seminar, the quartet imparted advice such as: Don't wear a belt because it looks bad on TV; wear a flatter shirt but don't tuck it in; and don't wash your hair everyday because it causes damage.

At 6:30 the next morning, the first tee at Wykagyl Country Club was abuzz. Rookie Diane Irvin was one of a dozen golfers who snuck out for an early nine-hole practice round. The former lawyer checked to see who was not wearing belt, who had her hair tied back. Everyone who had attended the seminar seemed excited.

That enthusiasm lasted about three hours, until O'Connor's column made its way around the driving range. In the locker room every copy of USA Today was opened to the story (The Wall Street Journal, by comparison, laid untouched).

As the players read, their faces grew redder with every sentence. It's probably a good thing no one plays with a 1-iron anymore because that would have been the weapon of choice.

"Who is this guy?" said one player on the range.

Canadian Lorie Kane categorized O'Connor as a typical member of the media who really doesn't know or try to get to know the players of the LPGA Tour. "It's too bad that you have writers like this who come to one event and think they know what is going on," she said. "He couldn't have been farther off the mark."

Kane's point was that Votaw and the tour aren't trying to sell sex; instead, they are just trying to make the players more marketable.

LPGA president Gail Graham was quick to point out that some of the world's top male athletes -- Andy Roddick, Tom Brady and Michael Jordan, for example -- are adored both for their ability and their looks.

"I personally find many male professional athletes attractive, mostly because of their performance, but also because of how they relate to me, the passion and joy they show for their sports and their willingness to let fans into their lives," Graham wrote in a letter to USA Today editors. "These athletes are interesting because they have the power to attract. Does appearance figure into that? Sure."

But not all of the players were upset with O'Connor's sentiments. Veteran Allison Finney felt that the tour's five points of celebrity are a given but should never have been publicized.

"If we play outstanding golf, people will notice that we are also attractive," Finney said.

Laura Diaz initiated this out-of-control forest fire last year when she said the tour should start marketing the attractive players. But now Diaz thinks one word should be removed from the discussion.

"There is a big difference between sex and sex appeal," said Diaz, who appeared with Natalie Gulbis last Tuesday on NBC's Today show as part of the tour's glamour push. "What we are trying to do is be more appealing; the word sex shouldn't be used."

In the meantime, the tour's marketing scheme has become the butt of many jokes. Last week on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, sex was listed on its right-side rundown. "We put that up there so you would stick around for 20 minutes," said one of the hosts. "That is what the LPGA is trying to do also." A Los Angeles Times columnist wrote that the tour "might as well announce that Annika Sorenstam is going to tee off at 9 a.m. topless."

While Votaw probably is not bent over in laughter, he is probably smiling. Because without having to drive around in a jacked-up Cadillac blaring Eminem, the commish has gotten people to take notice. In essence, he already is selling the tour -- all without having to sell his soul.

Tom Hanson, a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated's Golf Plus section, is a longtime caddie on the LPGA Tour. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

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