Status Quo

by hound dog on Dec 11, 2008 5:35 AM PST

I have been exchanging e-mails with one of my readers about the Priority Status situation and the main point we've been discussing is one that I thought you might be interested in.

David points out that in the past, the LPGA has often thrown out Q-School scores of players who had not improved their status, in order to allow the next-best finishers to move up and claim a higher status. The newly-rediscovered Status memo mentions settling ties at Q-School by matching scorecards but does not mention throwing out "unimproved" scores. David's confusion is over why the Tour did this at the 20^th place barrier for Leah Wigger and Chella Choi and not at the 30^th or 40^th place barriers. A valid question, that one.

My response is - which two spots in the Top 20 were vacated? By my reckoning, no one who finished in the Top 20 failed to improve on their previous status. Mollie Fankhauser and Charlotte Mayorkas both remain in Category 11 but each improved by several positions within that category (Fankhauser by about 15, Mayorkas by about 10). That was the whole point of them playing Q-School in the first place, by the way - they were already Cat-11, they couldn't have jumped any higher than Cat-11, and they could only have improved their standing within it.

So if no one vacated any of the Top 20 spots, why was there a playoff among the four tied for 21^st? If you want my opinion, somebody on-site at Q-School f---ed up royally. They looked at the final Top 20, thought two players (most likely Fankhauser and Mayorkas) hadn't improved their positions (even though they had), remembered the old "we throw out scores that don't improve status" rule, and sent four players out for a playoff mistakenly. Four days later, we still haven't gotten any explanation for what happened because the LPGA office is trying to figure out how to positively spin it. I could be very wrong about this but if I'm not - Guys, just admit the mistake. Either leave Wigger and Choi in Category 11 since you gave them the chance to move up (and screw about 16 other players out of two positions) or recant the playoff decision and drop Wigger and Choi to Category 16 (screwing them out of 16 positions each). Either way, make up your mind and move on.

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new territory

I previous years the only concern following Q-School was exempt v. nonexempt status. The Tour had a month and a half to sort out who is where on the priority list and resolve any disputes, all of it done behind the scene.

Now the LPGA has gone to a priority system with twenty-one separate categories. Several players fit into more than one. The process seems fairly transparent and we, the public, are watching their every move. Unfortunately, it seems the Tour has made some errors. I have no interest in giving them a pass, but I think they need a little time to resolve the issues. Since those involve explaining decisions to individual players, four days may not be enough — not everyone affected is at Rookie Orientation.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Dec 11, 2008 8:44 AM PST reply actions

don't Choi and Wigger deserve to know?

Right now the only 2 people affected by the probable Category 11 mistake are (going to be? already?) at Rookie Orientation. Sure, some players show up in multiple categories, but as HD demonstrated, that’s not a real issue—just give them the highest spot on the list that they’ve earned, period. It shouldn’t be that hard for the LPGA to finalize that list—and at least let the players, if not the public, know. Isn’t this kind of, you know, their job?

by The Constructivist on Dec 11, 2008 10:33 AM PST reply actions

whoa there...

Do you have information not contained in an LPGA press release? Have Choi and Wigger gone to the media proclaiming they don’t know their status? Relax TC. Just because no one has told you, HD, or anyone else in the general public doesn’t mean those directly involved haven’t been notified.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Dec 11, 2008 12:45 PM PST up reply actions

point taken

They have pictures of the orientation at the Futures Tour site. Hopefully some word got passed along there to the people who need to know 1st.

by The Constructivist on Dec 12, 2008 2:48 AM PST up reply actions

HD read Priority 20 again

Doesn’t “regardless of whether they have a priority higher than that category” mean they are not throwning out scores?

Note no such statement for Priority 11 or 16, big surprise, LPGA doing something for 1 priority and not another:)

So Kemp’s score could be thrown out, but not Macenzie’s and Leon’s? Mayorkis and Fankhouser don’t apply but maybe HD is right and the LPGA goofed.

Another theory on “Playoff Gate” is that the LPGA wanted 138 players, a typical field, for players through Priority 11. After the results on Sunday were 2 short and decided to have a playoff.

by Phil E. Blunts on Dec 11, 2008 12:05 PM PST reply actions

"next 10 players"

Oh, now I see why the ambiguity of Choi’s and Wigger’s status affects everyone else. Here’s the problem with kicking them down to Category 16: you knock 2 players out of the LPGA entirely for ’09 who might otherwise have gotten into a few events.

Let’s say they keep Choi and Wigger in 11 but don’t remove Kemp from that count of the “10 players finishing after the players who finished in 20th place” for Category 16 (and assume that this doesn’t imply that Choi and Wigger are both in Category 11 and Category 16!) or Mackenzie and Leon from that count of “the next 10 players” for Category 20. Here’s what results:

Category 16
Na Ri Kim
Allison Hanna-Williams
Anna Nordqvist
Angela Buzminski
Samantha Richdale
Sarah Kemp
Nontaya Srisawang
Brandi Jackson
Haeji Kang
Tania Elosegui

Category 20
Christi Cano (that final-round 74 hurt)
Maru Martinez
Pornanong Phatlum
Nicole Hage
Janell Howland
Sunny Oh
Paige Mackenzie
Angela Oh
Sarah Oh
Taylor Leon

Note that Garrett Phillips isn’t listed as a 2009 rookie, which suggests that they didn’t throw Kemp’s score out in Category 16—if they had, Phillips would be in.

Now, if they were to change their minds and follow their stated rules for both Category 11 and Category 16, the only player hurt would be Sarah Oh, as Leon already gets into some tournaments as a Category 15 player.

So I’m hoping the LPGA has also clarified for her whether she’ll remain a member for the 2nd straight year….

by The Constructivist on Dec 12, 2008 3:10 AM PST reply actions