The LPGA Commissioner has made a statement following backlash over the decision not to give Sophia Popov a five-year exemption on the Tour.


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Social media has been a dramatic place over the last few days.

Many of us, including some of golf's most famous figures, have been expressing outrage over the LPGA's decision not to give AIG Women's Open winner Sophia Popov a five-year exemption on the Tour, or to let her play in the upcoming 2020 ANA Inspiration.

But now we have another development...

LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan has taken to Twitter to address the backlash in a short video statement.

First, he addressed the 2020 ANA Inspiration issues explaining that they set the field for the tournament back in March, and that the winners from the 2019 AIG Women's Open would be playing in it. Meanwhile, the top five players from the 2020 AIG Women's Open will qualify for the 2021 ANA Inspiration.

"We set the field in March because we wanted to make sure that anyone who was qualified then couldn't then play their way in or out after restarts and COVID cancellations. We said that anything that happened after March would be addressed in future years, I'm pretty sure it's the same with the Masters. The top five finishers from the 2019 AIG Women's Open are still waiting for their chance to play in the ANA. The winners from this year's AIG will play in the 2021 ANA. It's okay if you disagree with me about that."

Then, he moved on to the five-year exemption issue explaining that last year's AIG Women's Open winner Hinako Shibuno also wasn't a member of the LPGA and also got a two-year exemption instead of five. He also named a number of other examples.

He said:

"You might not like that regulation and I'll be the first to admit that I'm going to think about it in the off season. Maybe we should feel differently about a non-member from the Symetra Tour or the LET as they are LPGA run. What I won't do is change a regulation in the middle of a season, or the Monday after an emotional win. I didn't do it last year and I won't do it this year."

We can't help but want the best for Sophia, but we respect Mike Whan for confronting the issue and offering an explanation.

What do you think?