If the Kraft Nabisco Championship wants to grow its reputation in the golf world, Gabe Codding says the tournament needs the LPGA Tour to be strong and vibrant.

That's why Codding, the business manager for the Kraft Nabisco, was interested in meeting the new LPGA commissioner, Michael Whan, at the LPGA's Tournament Owners Association meeting in San Diego last week.

“It was a pretty good show because (Whan) was in New York when the announcement was made,” Codding said. “We were at the Tournament Owners Association, where the LPGA executives were, minus (acting commissioner) Marty Evans, who was on her way to Korea.

“We had a heads up. They let us know, we all had e-mails and knew what was coming,” Codding added. “But (Whan) took a red-eye from New York, jumped on a red-eye, and he was sitting there having breakfast with us the next morning.”

Whan, a former vice president with TaylorMade-adidas, was named the new commissioner last week after a three-month search following the resignation of commissioner Carolyn Bivens. Whan won't take office officially until January, meaning acting commissioner Evans will remain in that position for another eight weeks.

“Marty and the team have done a great job to get events signed (for 2010). Their focus was to get the schedule together,” Codding said. “But having someone that is in there permanently is a step in the right direction.”

Codding knows Whan is taking over the LPGA job at a difficult time. In the last year, LPGA sponsors and tournaments themselves had left the tour. That includes some of the tour's longest-running events such as the one in Corning, N.Y.

Tournament owners had battled with Bivens and the LPGA over proposed increases in rights fees and the costs of LPGA services to those events. In addition, the LPGA hasn't had an American winner since May, something that critics believe is driving American sponsors away from the women's tour.

Bivens' three-year term as commissioner ended when she resigned after many top LPGA players signed a letter to the LPGA board of directors asking for a change in commissioners.

The Kraft Nabisco has a 38-year history in the desert at Mission Hills Country Club and is owned by Kraft rather than merely sponsored by the food manufacturer. But that doesn't mean the tournament isn't hurt in some way by the troubles of the LPGA in other cities and around the country, Codding said. As the 2010 LPGA schedule evolves, it's possible that the Kraft, held the first week of April, could be the first event played in the United States next year.

“We are impacted. As long as this event has existed, we've built our own fan base here in the valley,” Codding said. “But if you hope to grow globally, regionally, that depends on the strength of the tour. If you want people to come here from Los Angeles or San Diego or think about the Coachella Valley, that relies on the strength of the LPGA playing in other markets and growing its brand.”

Codding said the LPGA has been in damage control mode for much of the last year, and what he believes the tour needs most from the commissioner's office is great leadership. While no one can say what kind of commissioner Whan will be, Codding said he liked what he saw from the commissioner in their first meeting.

“He kept saying he loves the issues. He's not scared of any of that. He's a no-nonsense guy,” Codding said. “He stayed (at the TOA meeting) until he met everybody.”

“I liked his informal approach,” Codding added of Whan. “He had a shirt and tie on, not a jacket. He sat and talked to everyone, and he spoke for about 20 minutes on his passion (for golf). He said for the next 90 days he's just going to listen and learn.”