LPGA Going Through A Welcome Baby Boom

SINGAPORE | Dr. Cheng Wen-Haur, the chief life sciences officer at Wildlife Reserves Singapore, and Mike Whan, commissioner of the LPGA, turned out to have plenty in common during the HSBC Women’s World Champions. Each is equally excited about having a big baby boom on his hands.

At the Singapore Zoo, where Charley Hull and Georgia Hall breakfasted with a couple of orangutans and their offspring, officials recently recorded the first birth in seven years of a Celebes Crested Macaque, a species of monkey on the critically endangered list.

The women golfers may not be on such a list but, according to Whan, the fact that the number of babies in the LPGA daycare centre is rising from its regulars – Cristie Kerr’s son, and Karine Icher’s two daughters – could not be better news for the LPGA Tour.

“It sends out all the right messages for us,” said Whan. “It changes people’s perception of the tour. They will see that it’s possible to play golf, take time off to have a family, and then come back when you’re ready. I picture all the new arrivals growing up together, like back in the days when Juli Inkster and Nancy Lopez were at the top of their games.”

For Whan, a seminal moment came when Kerr’s older child, Mason, came running onto the 18th green as his mother won the Lotte championship of 2017. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow that’s impressive,’ as I ran through the list of things Cristie does. Golf and motherhood apart, she’s got her own wine business and runs a charity. Of...