I’ll bet LPGA Tour Commissioner Carolyn Bivens can now spell “xenophobia” backward and forward and in her sleep. Last Monday, when Golfweek broke the news that in 2009 the LPGA would begin suspending players who were not proficient in English, the collective sports world dropped its jaw in unison.

By Friday, the outcry from professional golfers (male and female), sports reporters, sponsors and politicians had forced Bivens into hiding, leaving Deputy LPGA Commissioner Libba Galloway to clean up the mess.

Bivens did, however, release a statement:

The LPGA has received valuable feedback from a variety of constituents regarding the recently announced penalties attached to our effective communications policy. We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions.

That Bivens and Co. were shocked by public response is ridiculous.

There are 121 international players from 26 countries on this year’s LPGA tour. The LPGA’s top player, Lorena Ochoa, is from Mexico. The most dominant player of the last decade, Annika Sorenstam, is Swedish. And all of the majors this year were won by international players: Ochoa, Yani Tseng from Taiwan, and Inbee Park and Ji-Yai Shin from South Korea. … continue reading