The LPGA is trying hard in their quest to elevate players' profiles and the tour's popularity, but perhaps it should take a long hard look at the type of PR now coming from the upcoming Vic Open down in Australia, and perhaps why Ariya Jutanugarn quickly figured out that the big galleries at a recent tournament, which featured golfers and celebrities in other sports, weren't there to see the LPGA stars.
"They were there to get selfies with NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL greats, as well as various entertainers who showed up for the event. Nobody asked me for an autograph," Ariya said.
It's a far cry from the ladies who founded, and who had the 'vision' for the LPGA -- they built up the tour by visiting Rotary, county fairs and movie theatres to promote the week's tournament.
Babe Zaharias was among founders who stepped up to home plate between innings of minor league baseball games to hit golf shots out of the park, and Shirley Spork remembers waiting to step into a boxing ring between rounds at a prize fight, so she could sell tickets to a tournament.
The Vic Open, to be held from Thursday to Sunday, is another important new event as men and women play simultaneously for the same prize money.
But LPGA pros are skipping it in embarrassing numbers. Just five of the top-50 players in the world rankings are scheduled to play, according to the final field list on the LPGA's website.
The Vic Open will be held on a course I know well -- the 13th Beach Golf Links that runs along the coastline south of Melbourne.
The event is important because it is co-sanctioned by the men's European Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Association.
It's also unique as men and women will play the same course, at the same time, for the same prize money.
The Vic Open's LPGA purse is only US$1.1 million, but it's the principle being advocated that should make all the ladies want to play.
Go into any 19th hole and you'll hear that if LPGA pros really want to play for more money then they need to show up and play with the men.
Another comment you'll overhear is that the large numbers of players skipping the event don't understand the message they're sending.
The top women may not be forfeiting their rights to argue for narrowing the gender pay gap, but they lose credibility doing so after not bothering to make the effort to play in Australia. They're giving ammunition to men who sneer whenever they read LPGA pros talk about equal purses.
Yes, players may have perfectly good reasons for skipping the Vic Open. Illness, injury, easing back after the birth of a child, other family issues and professional conflicts are among them, but the size of the purse shouldn't be.
Scheduling issues shouldn't be, either. The Vic Open may be the first of four consecutive events in Asia, but it demands a priority place on every player's schedule this year.
The organisers and sponsors have worked very hard to attain the standards stipulated by the LPGA, when the possibility of staging the event was first discussed.
This tournament has become revered for its progressive thinking and being able to take the tournament to the next level. But apparently, a lot of LPGA stars aren't so impressed or enthusiastic.
