LPGA Commissioner Birthdate: February 10, 1965 Hometown: Naperville, Ill. & Cincinnati, Ohio Resides: Orlando, Fla. Education: Miami University of Ohio (Finance, 1987) Family: Wife, Meg, and three children, Austin, Wesley and Connor Mike Whan Career Highlights Mike Whan took the LPGA lead in 2010 with goals of enhancing business relationships, growing the tournament schedule, maximizing fan experience, and increasing exposure for the entire membership. Five years later, his big picture thinking, strong marketing skills and bold risk-taking has pushed the LPGA to new heights on many levels. The tournament schedule has soared from 23 to 33 tournaments with innovative events like the “Founders Cup;” strategic partnerships (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship); The Evian Championship – the LPGA’s fifth major; the eight-country, first-of-its-kind “International Crown” and the CME Group Tour Championship with its new seasonlong, $1 million “Race to the CME Globe” points competition. Purses have jumped above $60 million with television ratings showing steady climb and coverage hours surpassing 400 for the first time. In addition, under Whan the developmental Symetra Tour Road to the LPGA has added six events and increased prize money by 53 percent, the LPGA’s Girls Golf program expects 50,000 new members annually by the end of 2015 – up from 5,000 in ’10, and the LPGA’s Teaching & Club Professionals division has its largest ever membership and has now expanded into Asia. Now embracing “all things global,” the LPGA caters to fans in 225 countries via the website and boasts television partners in 175 countries. 2011 Official Events Total Purse Offical Average Official Purse North American Events International Events Televised Events Televised Hours 23 $41.4M $1.8M 16 7 22 200 2015 33 $61.6M $1.8M 22 11 33 410 @LPGACommish What They are Saying About Mike Whan... “The LPGA was both lucky and good to have chosen Mike Whan as her successor. A longtime executive in golf and sporting goods, the effervescent Whan has taken the LPGA back to its roots as a tour that offers some of the rarest commodities in professional sports: intimacy, value and player interaction with fans and sponsors.” - Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated “Nobody is having a better run in the game than Mike Whan. Apologies to Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer, but the man of the year in golf is in the women’s game. The LPGA commissioner continues to deliver in the clutch while leading his tour to the best comeback in the sport.” - Randell Mell, Golf Channel “Whan is a man who undersells and over delivers. Spending time with him reminds you why he’s considered one of the brightest people in the game, a man who took over a tour in shambles and turned it into the hottest product in professional golf.” - Steve Eubanks, Global Golf Post