LPGA Tour

LPGA Tour extends Commissioner Mike Whan’s contract

Mike Whan (Scott Halleran/ Getty Images)

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan has agreed to a six-year contract extension through 2020.

Mike Trager, the chairman of the tour’s board of directors, announced the deal Tuesday in a letter to players and staff.

The 50-year-old Whan took over the tour in January 2010, replacing Carolyn Bivens. She resigned in July 2009 after a group of players wrote a letter to the board of directors calling for her to quit.

Whan has helped the tour grow from 23 events and $40 million in total purses in 2010 to 33 events and more than $60 million in purses.

The tour’s first major championship for the year, the ANA Inspiration, starts Thursday at Mission Hills.