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

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.