by Jeff Skinner
The award for best name for a professional golf tournament goes to LPGA Tour for this week’s Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. Swinging Skirts…now if that doesn’t get your attention on the course nothing will.
This is the kind of week that Commissioner Michael Whan has worked long and hard for. He has a new event with a new sponsor in a new (sort of) market. But first, what exactly is Swinging Skirts?
It is a private, non-profit organization that includes 60 men and women looks to raise funds for women’s golf in Taiwan. Their name harkens back to golf’s Scottish roots and the members both men and women don kilts and skirts to represent their organization. So how does a charitable organization from Taiwan end up sponsoring a full fledged LPGA Tour event? That’s Mike Whan and his team.
Last year The Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters in Taiwan was co-sponsored by the Taiwan and Korean LPGA Tours. This year they have moved to the big time on the LPGA Tour. Young Lydia Ko won the event last year and she and 18 of the top 20 golfers in the Rolex Rankings will tee it up at Lake Merced Golf Club.
That also is another plus for the LPGA as they move back into the San Francisco market for the first time since 2010.
The top five in the world will compete for the first place check of $270,000 and Michelle Wie will be looking to go back to back after her win at Ko-Olina. Wie jumped ten places in the world rankings to thirteenth and will be making a home coming to Stanford for the first time since her graduation.
The Golf Channel will have live coverage of each round starting tonight at 6:30pm ET.
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