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EVIAN MASTERS PRESENTED BY SOCIETE GENERALE

July 22, 2009

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Welcome everyone to the Evian Masters. We have joining us to the far stage right Franck Riboud, chairman of the Evian Masters. Next to him is Jacques Bungert, director of the Evian Masters, Dawn Hudson, chairman of the LPGA board of directors, and our defending champion, Helen Alfredsson.
JACQUES BUNGERT: First, thank you all for being here. As always, nice to have you around and for this welcoming press conference.
I think, as always, we are here to answer questions rather than state big things. As you know, the tournament this year is, as always, trying to move forward. You've seen in the press books and by yourself that a lot of things have changed on-site. You won't see it, but media-wise we have more than ever a worldwide coverage of the tournament with one more country getting in as far as images, which is Russia thanks to one of the exemptions we gave to the No. 1 Russian player.
So as always, the ambition of this tournament is to stand out and to really propose the best showcase of women's golf. That's how we work and that's part of the DNA of this tournament. This is what we're trying to achieve with the tours, the LPGA the LET and the other partnering tour.
We are obviously very happy to have our defending champion with us sitting alongside with us at this press conference, which is new. We don't know, maybe on the 18th green again this year. We'll see. I hope. Any questions?

Q. Helen, are you fully fit, because you had to withdraw from the U.S. Open? It was a rib injury?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Yeah, it was my rib, but I'm feeling a lot better. It's not fully, but it's not as bad as it was then.

Q. Do you know what caused it?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: No. I had a problem for three weeks and I really couldn't take a deep breath. It was moving from the back to the front. I didn't want to make it worse with some important things coming up, so that's why I withdrew.

Q. The medical advice to improve it, is there anything you're doing to improve it?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, I get some treatment and I'm avoiding some bad swings hopefully (laughter.) No, I took like five days of rest and let it settle, and then I took some anti-inflammatories to get the inflammation down. So it feels a lot better.

Q. Tell us about your preparation for the Evian, when you got here and what you've been doing.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: I think, for me, coming here always gives me a special feeling anyway. I get very elated and very happy.
You know, I think mentally I know this course quite well. You're just trying to hit the right golf shots. I get a very special energy when I come to this place. That's one of the biggest preparations. I came here two days early to prepare mentally.
No, it's just to hit the right golf shots. And I feel better, so that's the main way of preparing.

Q. And your golf game, apart from your injury, do you feel your golf game is in good shape going into the week?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Yeah, I'm hitting the ball quite well actually. I'm quite pleased with the way I strike the ball. Almost goes where I want almost all the time, which is nice. It comes down to the putting, of course, to really make it happen. That always needs work, so for everybody I think. Spending a lot time on those putting greens.

Q. A magazine has a feature signed by Patricia Davis all around the fifth major. Can you please tell us when this will finally happen here?
FRANCK RIBOUD: I will answer, because I got this question every year since 15 years. No, perhaps not 15 years. Between five and ten years. We just had a meeting with the LPGA and some of the players, and I really don't want that everybody push everybody to push the Evian Masters to become a major.
I know about golf tradition. We have to respect the fact that perhaps we are one of the most beautiful tournaments. I did the same answer every year: we have to be patient.
This tournament is our tournament, and I will never deal between the fact to become a major if I lose something in the fact that it's our tournament. I will never deal on this, whatever the tradition are.
The thing we want to do with the Evian Masters, is a unique tournament. Unique means you have four majors. So we have a meeting this morning, and I met few propositions. First of all, to be sanctioned as a major, and perhaps more than a major.
And second, if - if - one day or another there is a spot to become one of the four major, Evian must become this one. Until there are four majors, why do you want to add a fifth one if the tradition is four?
If there is a spot, okay, but we have to build something else. Because we need to have a challenge, otherwise one day or another, this tournament, like the others, will disappear, whatever the quality of the tournament. It's an equation of how do you motivate the people? How do you motivate the general manager of Evian in this difficult crisis situation to continue to spend money on a ladies golf tournament when he has to really make more efficiency in the factory and all the people working for him.
So we need something to grow, and we will not grow if we don't have a challenge. So Jacques and the team are doing a wonderful job. Every year, everybody told us, It's better than last year. One day or another, that kind of reaction will stop.
For us, we need something more. What do we need? And as you know, we support ladies golf since now 15 years. We even take care of the LET during very difficult period of time. If I look at the future as a businessman, because I'm not a golf guy or golf organization. No, I'm a businessmen. So I look to the future. I said to the LPGA, I said to the ladies golf, you need to have a vision for your sport. The vision for your sport must be a worldwide one. If it is just a national one, you are dead, for a very simple reason.
As a businessman, I will follow the country where the growth will be. The growth of the future will come from the emerging country, so my tournament has to be exposed to the emerging country. That's the reason why, as Jacques said, we use everything we can today, which is the wildcard to invite the No. 1 Chinese and the No. 1 Russian and the No. 1 Swiss because of the proximity, obviously. But we can't say Switzerland is an emerging country.
But it's clear, that if the Russian lady is playing here and the television are coming and you have image from the tournament with this Russian lady in Russia, you will generate young players who wants to become a champion like the Russian one.
So our job, if we are really thinking about the future of ladies golf, is not just to organize the most beautiful tournament. Pur job is to create the course for ladies golf tomorrow. That's the reason why. To give to that kind of lady the best exposure because of you.
Here in Evian, it's really our priority. We want to become unique. We ask to the LPGA, because for me, their job is to build the future of golf. So that's how to make the crisis an opportunity, not something which shrink you. No, how do you benefit from the crisis to give new vision and opportunity for all the ladies playing this sport? That's the idea. So make Evian the first worldwide championship. I will have meeting with the Japanese association, and I will have meeting with the LET and with, I don't know, the Australian one, to see how we can use the Evian Masters as a worldwide platform to build on the Rolex ranking, for example.
Even if we have to adapt, we will not find a solution at the beginning. But we must have a vision to be sure that within two, three, four, five, ten years, here in Evian you will have the best players of the world, because they will have a Rolex ranking which will sanction fairly and clearly who is the best player in the world, like in tennis. So that's all.
That's the reason why major is -- I know it's a tradition of 100 years, but I will never catch up to the 100 years of tradition. That's a fact. We have 15 years. Okay. The only thing is, I don't want to be, how do you say in English, I want to say if four will be the tradition, four will be the tradition for the next 100 years. If somebody disappear, okay, Evian will be there.
Because I agree with you, and for the first time I said that this tournament has everything equal to a major. Nothing less and nothing more. We are going to build the more. The more will be the real worldwide championship for this sport.
If we are following in that direction, this tournament is sustainable. If we are not following, this tournament is no more sustainable. Perhaps sustainable for the next ten years, but if you speak for tradition, you're vision must not be two years, five years. It must be 100 years. That's golf tradition, 100 years, 150 years.
If you look at what we're building here, it's very nice for the player. If we put all these pictures, it's just because we will build the tradition of the Evian Masters with the players, not as a marketing tool, blah, blah, blah.
So now we start to expose the tradition of the Evian Masters experience. That's the reason why we improve year after year. So our vision is this one. If we continue to come forward in the tournament, I will never let somebody else control this tournament. And control is because I am speaking in it English. I can explain in French if you like.
Control means I decide and I respect your position, but I don't want to become a classic tournament. I want to stay unique. Unique as a tournament. Unique because of the field. Unique because of the way we welcome everybody, the journalists. For the first time we have also a feature for the caddie, because they're part of the tournament. We have a very special series of caddie pictures. That's all.
Everybody is talking about the Korean, Korean, Korean. Okay, fine. That's the future. So we have a translator to be sure that we welcome as best we can these people who are perhaps like me, not really friend with the English speaking. Why not? Just be sure that everybody is sharing with us the vision we have not only for the Evian Masters, but for the ladies golf.
JACQUES BUNGERT: Which probably goes technically towards getting more points on the Rolex ranking, on the Solheim Cup, that the tournament brings to the players that play Evian. So we have some technical issues to sort out, but basically the vision is very clear. We will put everything that is feasible to achieve this vision.
FRANCK RIBOUD: For me, there is no reason for that tournament not being sanctioned as a major.
DANA GROSS-RHODE: Questions.
DAWN HUDSON: I'll just add comments for the LPGA and all the talented players. First of all, it is a pleasure to be here, as always, in Evian. It is a great marvel to have a partner that looks how to make things better year upon year.
Where we have such agreement and such alignment is around, yes, golf has tremendous tradition and we love the four majors. They are steeped in a way of doing things in the past. This sport is definitely having a global impact. Most of the growth in the sport of golf is on a global basis and the talent is global.
So the opportunity to partner with Evian to see what we can do to make this tournament not only as great as it is today, but great and growing for the future. That's what we're working on, and doing something very exciting that brings even more global stature to Evian.
Helen not only is the defending champion, but one of our most active and contributing members of the board of directors of the LPGA.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Well, my personal feeling, as everybody knows that has been around here, has been a pioneer since so many things in women's golf. I am very proud of Franck and Jacques' decision to even in this case pioneer it is as worldwide event where we as players get to have the absolute best players to play against.
It's no surprise to me that they want to take this to something special. For me, it's always been very special, but obviously that has a different meaning. The ground of using the Rolex ranking for the players, because that's the only way the players are gonna get better, to make sure you know who the best players are around the world.
Maybe they don't always have the chance to go to the States, or like we see the Russian girl. It's a great pleasure to meet all these. Having been a part of this for so many years, it's so nice to know that have they have a vision that -- you know, majors have been a vision that has been established for so many years. But to take something different and make it bigger and reaching everybody in every corner of women's golf that plays on a very high level, I think this is a fantastic place to showcase all of those players.
JACQUES BUNGERT: It's clear that talking with everyone here and the press and the players, we are talking about a revolution here. We are reinventing ourselves, and it's this is not only a marketing posture or position. This is a clear evolution of reinventing the way we see the women's golf and the global vision we have.
Again, it won't only be a nice story to tell to the press or media or whatever. It will technically be done so that in ten, 15, 50 years from now, Evian Masters is seen as the pinnacle of women's golf, and as the players championship, so to speak.

Q. (Question regarding revolution.)
JACQUES BUNGERT: Absolutely, yes, the vision of Franck when we started this Junior Cup was exactly this one: Preparing the future and helping the world understand and get a touch and feel of what golf and women's golf is. When you see these Indonesians and Indians come here and get acquainted to a world course, the Chinese obviously, and get to know and meet the players, their champion, the champion that make them dream about it, you can obviously think that that's gonna have an impact not only on their own future, but on the future of women's golf and golf in general.
You have boys as well. Today we have 15 teams, and we will tell you that in the future we will increase this number. Obviously that's interesting to understand that. This is the initiation of the international global women's week for women's golf. So that's obviously key at the start for the tournament.
FRANCK RIBOUD: It's not only the Junior Cup. Our vision is a let's say worldwide vision, and at the same time it's a very local one. Because you see just the Evian Masters, as you know. But besides that, we create the Evian Masters Training Center. For example, if you are a teacher, you come here with customer, with your customer having their room in our two hotel, we pay everything for the golf teacher. It's free obviously if his client is up in our hotel.
We create a golf school. We have free for all the children of the region. If one of them -- and it's already the case -- is going out and become very strong and start to play regionally, internationally, nationally, until he become a professional, the Evian brand will pay everything for him.
So our dream, our very local dream, is to one day have a golf girl coming from our training center, from our school, playing -- winning, we will see -- but playing the Evian Masters. So it's really a global (in French) for the French speaking.

Q. Don't you think that your vision, the Evian vision, must apply to all major tournaments in the world for the future?
FRANCK RIBOUD: No, no, no, no. You know, in life you have two ways of looking at not your vision or your mission. You follow or you drive. I never follow. I never follow. I drive. So I do. You know, just imagine that we start this tournament, and basically my father start this tournament 15 years ago with nothing. I'm very pleased to see you, but at this time, except Helen perhaps, and Laura and Annika in the beginning, we start with what we can call the best player of the world, depending how we can attract them.
From the beginning, and I remember, I took that from a guy from Roland Garros. How do they attract? You don't attract people just with money. Never. If you do, your competitive advantage will decline one day or another. You will always find something reaches anew. Just look at what happened with the crisis. If you build everything on money, you are dead.
Okay, perhaps the crisis will disappear, but the mindset will not come back. The mindset of everybody is going to change. So the fact to drive, not to follow, help us also to preempt what will be the future. It's clear. I preempt the fact that even in my company, perhaps somebody will tell me, we don't care anymore about golf and we have to spend the money somewhere else. So I have the contract with the city to use the Evian name.
I put the tournament within the contract, which is my way to protect the tournament to make sure it will be a sustainable one. Of course, I have to deal with the mayor of the city. I put in the contract to protect the tournament.
We are talking about tradition. Perhaps in the U.S. you still have caddie. We still have caddie, and we keep also the old caddies. But we ask them, you can play, but during the competition for kids, you follow, each of you follow one kid to explain to them what we call the etiquette and things like that.
Everybody is in tradition. Nobody thinks to build a tradition of tomorrow, because all the tradition you are talking about in golf, somebody one day create this tradition. Okay, it's very easy today to leverage, Oh, yeah, we can't change the tradition because it's 100 years. We need to be dressed with the tradition of golf. Even my club here, they ask to the children to have a collar. I said, Stop this. They're young. If they want, they can play with a good T-shirt, a beautiful one.
It's more how did you transform the tradition more than to always leverage a tradition nobody in this room builds, but somebody 100 years before build it. I'm sure this guy 100 years ago was a revolutionary guy. So we have to think about this. If I want to have this tournament, a beautiful one every year, eight days in Evian, I need to dream also. I really need to know, okay, what are we going build? If you ask that question, you think about the future.
So the idea for me is not to transform and all the tournament become like Evian. First of all, we are in competition. Whatever your business is, you are in competition. So if you follow and just reproduce what the others are doing, you will never win the competition.
We have to build competitive advantage. It's clear. It's really clear. So we have to leverage what will be the competitive advantage of Evian. Is it the course? No, you will find more beautiful courses, more fashionable or whatever. Nature, yes. We can build around nature. Perhaps the fact that we are using quite nothing for chemical product to protect the green and the golf course. The fact that we are using the same water just to save water.
So we start, and I explain that since 15 years. Nobody listen. Trust me, today take care of the environment when you are in the golf business will be something which will create a competitive advantage. I'm sure.
I'm not a visionary, and I'm not a golf tournament organizer. I'm just the chairman of a really small company which is impacted by everything all over the world. So I'm looking to the Evian Masters exactly like I'm looking to the Evian brand or the Dannon brand or whatever.
Okay, there is a crisis. Do we have to stop the tournament? No, we have to adapt ourselves. So for you, this year the tournament is exactly the same, perhaps even better. I asked to Jacques, how do we deal with every line of the P&L of the tournament? I think we save 15% of expenditure we have the previous year. Crisis is an opportunity to change the way you do, the mindset.
But this savings we reinvest in the tournament. Why we can do that? Because for us, this tournament is just fun. We are not there to make money. We are not there to make money. We are just there to create the most beautiful tournament we can, and I hope this tournament will become the No. 10 best tournament of the world. That will mean nine of them are better in front of us, which is the best thing which happen to the ladies golf, especially in a very masculine environment.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: I just wanted to give you another response. As a player, I think that what we are trying to achieve also, it's the first time where the Rolex ranking is gonna be used. This is gonna be one tournament that, once a year, or I don't know, maybe we gonna have it in a few years down the line some other places in the world, but at the same time, it's gonna be a Rolex ranking.
Wherever the players are around the world, you can follow your own progress and you know what the statutes are to be a part of this tournament. So whatever tour you play on, you can be a part of the Evian Masters because that's what we want. We want best players in the world. So you can have a goal around the world and follow your progress, and then we all gonna meet here.
I think it's gonna be something very special for the players that are around the world that we are gonna meet. All the different players belong to the different tours, so it's hard. We all coming from the same thing and we all gonna be after Rolex rankings.
The ones that hasn't had any opportunity get an invite, and for the players to meet players you might not have met because of where you play in the world. This is the place where the top players at the moment will meet.
I think that's a very special feeling for all the players. That you meet players that you never met that you know are very good and maybe have not had the opportunity to go to America or the LET or the Japanese tour or whatever. I think they have such a great vision of bringing the absolute top players of this moment because of so many invites and the wildcards.
As a player, I think that's definitely a new finding and something very special that you can test yourself against the top players.
FRANCK RIBOUD: I don't want also to make a marketing speech, but even in term of business for the sustainability of ladies golf, I'm part of this club of people driving big companies, so I'm directly connected to my colleague from Kraft or Proctor or whatever. All of us are running after the same target.
We don't need awareness for our brands in France. It's a French tournament, you agree. But the Evian brand, it's an international brand, and the growth will not come from France. We are going for the best top growth. It will come from the emerging country, so that's on my side.
On the players side, if they want sponsor from the tournament, they must play the game or the sport where the growth is, because the sponsor will follow. It's not very difficult to understand. So if you are in charge of the golf, you have to think about the world. Because to convince I don't know which very famous brand in the U.S., the market is a national one.
So if I sponsor tomorrow Helen Alfredsson, you think it's very important for me she's playing in the U.S.? Yes, because it's very important market.
In terms of the future, it's very important that she helps me build awareness of my brand, because hers is stronger than mine. In China we have to put my brand on a soccer team just playing in France? No, no, no. No.
Perhaps first of all it's sometimes less expensive to look at what happened in China or whatever, so that's fact. So we have to adapt ourself. That's the reason why you will never see this tournament make it a favor for French player. If you remember all your question, we have a lot of pressure at the beginning about this.
For me, who is going to play the best tournament of the world, nothing else, except if it is a question of vision. Do we build something by giving a wildcard to a Russian player? Yes, we build something, but it's nothing to do with charity.
I remember 15 years ago we don't have so many Korean ladies here in Evian, and the Korean sport really build. They want a champion, and now they have many champion, like the United States did. Question mark about my country, which is another story.
JACQUES BUNGERT: What Franck said about business, but obviously, as you know, we have a strong sponsor's club here. When I say strong, it means that people like Rolex, Lacoste who have been with us, some of them from the beginning and have helped us, because we have a special DNA here.
They are not sponsors that are just paying a check and having duties or obligations. No. They are part of the board. They are really totally involved in the governance of this tournament, and they are totally aligned on this vision.
Obviously you can imagine that Rolex and Lacoste will...
FRANCK RIBOUD: Question mark, how long Rolex will support the Rolex ranking if nobody use it all over the world?
JACQUES BUNGERT: I don't know. Depends if they love you or not. That's all. Now, if you use the Rolex ranking and if it becomes the real tool to select the best layer of the world, yes, they will continue.
DAWN HUDSON: From an LPGA standpoint, as you say, the world is changing and corporations are getting growth globally. The LPGA has almost 60% of its players now internationally. It's a global world and a global talent.

Q. Jacques, you are working on a panel of ladies players to contribute to the changes from one year to the other on the course. May we know who is in the panel? And secondly, what was the weirdest demand you ever face from the panel, most crazy?
FRANCK RIBOUD: First of all, the panel is moving because depending on the year. Annika was part of it in the past. Obviously Annika is not playing anymore, so it's kind of what we call the virtual task force involving Helen, Juli, Laura, players that, first of all, have played this course for a long time so are able to see the ball and see the challenges needed. Evian rain is good.
Secondly, there's never any crazy demands. The demand is always done, or the suggestion is always done. Like for the (indiscernible) four years ago when we started the river. It was just done on the purpose of making the course even more challenging and more interesting, and to make it at the same level as the status of this tournament. So there's never a weird, so to speak, demand. Every year there are suggestions made by the players that are listened to by our greenskeepers.
It's true, it's something we ask for. Because once again, this tournament is the players' tournament, so this tournament is being built with and for the players.

Q. I'm sure there's no doubt in five years you'll set standards for other majors. My question is: Have you ever thought of exporting the product, Evian Masters, so we will have maybe in Japan an Evian Masters?
JACQUES BUNGERT: Well, in fact, it's an open tournament. What we felt from day one in '94, because we have been very humble about what we were building. Every year we are trying to improve and looking on the mirror and then finding ourself evolving.
We have to build a strong Evian Masters brand before talking about anything else and focusing our means, because as you know, with budgets and people and resources. Because as you know, Franck has another job in a little company, and myself as well, which is not at all involved in golf. It means that we have to focus all our means to make it happen.
I think today we are in a different position as we were talking this morning. We are starting a new era and we are reinventing and resetting in a way the vision the mission to rebound and to rebuild on the basis we built.
Yeah, it's open. Maybe one day there will be a Evian Masters in Asia, in Australia, in America. Let's not forget one thing: We're here to help the players and the women's golf to do their job every day. And among those players, you got the top players.
Also, in each country players that are trying to become great players. If we can help, we are there. We'll see.
FRANCK RIBOUD: It's a question of what do we build by doing this, how that will help to us achieve the target to be the place to play golf when you are a champion of golf all over the world.
So if it is necessary to attract the best somewhere, to create something in another country, we will do it. But because that will help to achieve the target, we fix it in this way.

Q. What's the reaction been from the Ladies European Tour? If you base it on the world rankings, very few actual Ladies European Tour players will be qualified for this event next year?
JACQUES BUNGERT: Two things, first of all, the LET has been always partnering with us on the vision from day one. By the way, we are a major on the LET, so it meant that for them our international and global vision was interesting.
Through the criteria and evolution of Rolex, I think we gonna come up with a balanced world. That needs to be done obviously. LET is obviously an equal, as well as the tomorrow the JLPGA, and Korean LPGA.
FRANCK RIBOUD: Perhaps for the first time I will disagree with Jacques. You know, a tournament like Evian, we are in a competitive situation. Our job is not to help the LET to have a lot of player in the Evian Masters, because we have to protect the LET.
The LET needs also sometime some (in French) to move. So it's also your job to be sure that the LET will produce the best player of the world.
Why all these players from the Europe are going to play in the U.S.? Not only because of money, because I know the classic answer. It's also because if you are playing in the U.S., you are competing with the best players of the world on the best golf course. You have a lot of tournament.
So perhaps the crisis is now defining the number of tournament. Take the opportunity. And I know very well. I was ready to take over the LET a few years ago. I think we don't have to create a squeeze on the Rolex ranking criteria to be sure that we will have a balance between the LET, the Asiatic one if we find something to do with them, or the LPGA. All of these are in competition. They're marketing products. They're running after the same money, because your sponsors are the same in the U.S.
Pepsi is in the U.S.; Pepsi is in Europe. I am in the U.S. and I am in Europe. So just think of the people they try to discuss with. They are looking where the business is.
So if the best players are in Europe, she will take more money to the LET than the LPGA. That's all. I'm sorry. That's how the world is working. Perhaps I disagree with this, but the fact you can't fight against everything. You have to adapt yourself and find a way.
Our job is to make the LET more competitive. It's true today, why so -- we have so -- if I look at Gwladys, what is the ranking of Gwladys in the Rolex ranking? Why? I don't know. You must answer.

Q. (No microphone.)
FRANCK RIBOUD: Perhaps Rolex and the different organization has to change a little bit, readapt what they call a high quality tournament to make it more balanced. But at the end of the day, a tournament you play on three days versus a tournament you play on four days, when in the tournament you have the 99% first on the Rolex ranking, and the tournament when you have the 99% second half of the Rolex ranking, I think it's normal you get less points.
But, again, that's the reason why there is no solution. We have to build together a world tour. That's all. Gwladys must find a way to play some tournament in the U.S. I'm using her just as an example. Having success or not, okay, I come play.
I'll finish on that. We have also to work on the social life of the tour as well. Because as you know, I know little bit about golf champion. I live with one ex-champion. When I discuss with her when she was really playing, that was just, No! I will never go to the U.S. to play golf because my private life. I'm not talking about me, about private life.
Because the way of life. That's all. She thinks she would not adapt to this life, especially with the kids. Because latin people are different from Asiatic one. So we have to adapt also.
It's like in the business. Why don't you have a very high level manager ladies? I always said I have no problem with this. The classic answer is you know there are children, this and that. No, the company has to adapt itself to the fact that there is a difference.
I think you must -- I'm not in charge of the tour, no. But at the end of the day, you must have meeting with the different tour to talk about that. How to rebalance the way we live on the different tour. How can we readapt ourself to make sure we have more French or Spanish or whatever in the United States. (Indiscernible? Refuse all her life to play in the U.S. Not because she hates U.S., she Loves U.S., but because she has to educate our daughter and so on and so on.
I think you have to speak -- you have many subjects to speak together expect golf if you want to create this world tour. I think you have to create this world tour, because the company you are talking to are worldwide company.

Q. At this point, don't you think there's a big lack of worldwide general governing body for this sport?
FRANCK RIBOUD: Yes, but you can't change from one day to another. You must have the vision and the critical path to achieve the vision. You can't change things like this, because change is the most difficult thing, not only in golf.
But you need the right people, the people having the vision, so that's all. Who is in charge to recruit the people in charge? I'm ready to help. Having no responsibility. Just to give advice. I ask a very specific question this morning at our meeting. Everybody was surprised I agree with Juli. I will not tell you the question and the answer. Too sensitive.
Change is not something you have to achieve. It's not change for changing, but I think we have to adapt everything to the world of tomorrow. I will tell you, for example, something which is going in the wrong direction to build a world tour: transportation. Environment. It's not stupid to carry people playing golf in jet when you want to protect the planet. The answer is, yes, because at the end the day, if you really look to the figures, brand new airplane is destroying less than a lot of things nobody are talking about.
We have to ask that kind of question. If you ask that kind of question, you will trade the vision for what you have in charge. So just follow. If you never ask the right question, which will push you to think differently. But I'm not like that to speak about management, marketing.

Q. I have a question for the chairman of LPGA. I heard you build a tool, and educational tool for the players, right, so they can study on the Internet?
DAWN HUDSON: For language you're specifically talking about?

Q. I just heard about it, and I want to know if it is true.
DAWN HUDSON: We have a tool which we use the computer online for that allows players -- whatever country the LPGA is going to, we want players to be able to understand some of the basic language, some of the words, so they can converse a little bit and understand some of the cultural differences. They try to act appropriately in the culture.
So Americans traveling to France get a little primer on what they should do in France differently than in the United States. So it's really more than just language, but a whole sensitivity that wherever the tour goes we should be sensitive to the local culture.
While it is a global stage we're on, it's very local, and the tournaments are very much community events. We need to respect and enjoy and be part of that. We want to help the players, and me too. I'm gonna go on the site and learn a few words and understand what to do and what not to do.

End of FastScripts

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