LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan of Naperville, Illinois will be the new chief executive officer of the United States Golf Association according to Bob Harig of ESPN on Wednesday. Whan, who is 56 years of age, takes over from Mike Davis, who held the role since 2016.
Whan had been the commissioner of the LPGA since 2010. The news that he has accepted a new position is not a huge surprise because in early January, he announced he would be resigning after 11 years on the job. Whan is the longest-serving commissioner in LPGA history.
While with the LPGA, Whan helped create five majors in women’s golf instead of four. In 2013, the Evian Championship in Evian, France was upgraded to major status, and joined the Women’s British Open, the ANA Inspiration, the Women’s PGA Championship, and the US Women’s Open, as the five major tournaments in women’s golf.
Whan also needs to be credited for helping create a partnership between the LPGA and the PGA of America in 2014. Under the new arrangement, the LPGA Championship became the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. With the new partnership, the total purse of the major tournament increased dramatically from $2.25 million to $3.5 million. Despite coronavirus in 2020, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship saw a rise in the purse to $4.3 million.
Whan is the second person to be named the new leader of a major golf institution in the last two months. In December, Annika Sorenstam of Bro, Sweden was named the new president of the International Golf Federation.
In his new role, Whan will oversee the U.S. Open, the U.S. Women’s Open, and the U.S. Senior Open. It should be noted that the United States Golf Association is not only the governing body for golf in the United States, but for Mexico as well.
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