LPGA Players Find No Issue with English Requirement

Today’s Newsday reports that while commentators and editorial writers have been up in arms about the LPGA’s new requirement that players on tour learn English or risk being suspended, there’s one extremely notable group which isn’t opposing the rule: the players themselves.

Korean Se Ri Pak, one of the most notable foreign born players on the tour told Golfweek, “We agree we should speak some English. We play so good overall. When you win, you should give your speech in English.”

Angela Park,  born in Brazil of South Korean heritage and raised in the U.S., said the policy is fair and good for the tour and its international players.

Jean Bartholomew, an LPGA member since 1996 and a five year player on the Japanese tour said of her experience in Japan. “I learned to speak Japanese. Believe me, they don’t speak English.”

Given the fact that journalists can’t seem to find a single player who opposes the rule, they are turning to special interest groups and casual players as the basis for editorials panning the proposal and the LPGA. Ironically, while no less than 30 newspapers and networks have opined in opposition of the plan, not a single one quotes an LPGA player in opposition.