'Significant interest' in potential joint PGA Tour-LPGA event

NAPLES, FL - DECEMBER 10:(L) Lexi Thompson and her playing partner (R) Bryson DeChambeau stand on the fourth tee box during the final round of the Franklin Templeton Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on December 10, 2016 in Naples, Florida.
Chris Trotman / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Zurich Classic team event is re-igniting old conversations between the PGA Tour and LPGA about combining forces to create a joint event.

"We still have significant interest in developing joint events," LPGA commissioner Mike Whan told Golf Channel. "We have a team made up of representatives from both organizations who are vetting different approaches."

The two tours discussed a possible joint tournament in Hawaii, using the PGA Tour's Tournament of Champions as the host event. Those plans quickly disappeared once the LPGA found a title sponsor for their own Tournament of Champions event in Florida.

Whan isn't concerned about how the logistics of a potential event come together, as long as it generates interest from the golf world.

"Personally, I don't care if it’s a full-field official event, some kind of mixed team, or a limited-number, made-for-TV event – as any/all would create significant fan, media, and player interest/excitement,” he said.

Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie, Suzy Whaley, and Babe Zaharias are the only women to compete as individuals in a men's professional golf tournament. Lexi Thompson played in the QBE Shootout the last two years, an unofficial money and team event on the PGA Tour.

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