NAPLES, Fla. – Craig Kessler, the 10th commissioner in the LPGA’s 75-year history, is the first to lead the tour without having met any of the remarkable 13 founders. As the tour celebrates its diamond jubilee, Kessler has the gas pedal down, digging one of the longest-running women’s sports organizations out of a hole one handshake at a time.
The 40-year-old father of three is on a crash course to learn all that he can about a tour born of talent, courage and grit, instilling a new sense of hope across all corners of the women’s game. He may not have met any of the founders, but he’s spent enough time around others who have – and watched the movie – to know the legacy that’s at stake.
“The 13 founders are some of the grittiest human beings I’ve ever read about, watched,” said Kessler. “They’re remarkable people. The battles that they fought to get a stage first nationally and eventually internationally; you will be inspired if you take a minute to listen to their stories.
“Grit is something to be proud of, but grit isn’t necessarily as powerful as grit with collaboration at the same time.”
Moments after he said those words, Kessler was off the podium at the CME Group Tour Championship and down at the front row asking members of the media if they needed anything more.
Fresh off a new broadcast plan infused with cash, Kessler has already delivered relief to one the tour’s biggest pain points. It sounds almost unbelievable that 2026 will mark the first time every round on tour will be broadcast live.
On one hand, the bar is low when it comes to delivering wins for the LPGA. But Kessler’s TV win isn’t low-hanging fruit. It is, as he said, a seminal moment for the tour.
“Television partnership is everything, really,” said three-time major champion Minjee Lee.
Off the top of his press conference, Kessler took fans and the media behind the curtain a bit when he put the tour’s “flywheel” up on a screen. In the 12 o’clock position were the words “Improve the Product.”
While that might seem obvious, Kessler’s transparency about what needs to improve, coupled with his ability to go out and find a solution, is a refreshing change. He’s not afraid to take risks and ask questions, making constituents from across the board feel engaged.
Asked during Wednesday’s press conference if he’d ever consider an Asian major, Kessler didn’t flinch: absolutely.
When he talks about the need to develop more stars, Kessler’s Venn Diagram has expanded from two to three circles that include success, marketability and willingness. Players who intersect all three circles, he said, are the tour’s future stars.
How many of those players are currently on tour? A wise Kessler wouldn’t offer names or a number.
“We have so much raw potential to work with,” said Kessler, “and potential in some cases could apply globally, in other words, an individual athlete that could be a superstar across the globe. And then we also have opportunities to create regional superstars, folks who really connect with their local or national audience, and the exercise that we’re going through right now is to put names in the circles and figure out exactly what makes sense.”
This is significant. For fans yes, but mainly for what it signals about new commissioner Craig Kessler’s problem solving.
Instead of expecting its TV provider to go above and beyond the contract, Craig found a partner to pay for the upgrade.
Everyone wins. https://t.co/HsDtvy71OM
— Grant Boone (@grantboone) November 18, 2025
The LPGA survived and grew because of the women who stepped up and said yes to whatever needed to be done beyond golf, and while that relentless spirit has definitely waned, Kessler is working overtime to build the goodwill capital needed for player buy-in.
“If you looked at my phone, you would see hundreds of texts between our players and me, constant phone calls, visiting a handful of them in their home cities over lunch or around a round of golf,” said Kessler. “I’ve played in half a dozen or so pro-ams with many of our athletes and sponsors.
“Long way of saying there’s no one way to build trust. It’s the combination of many things and it’s not just me doing this. Our entire leadership team spends hours a week because that’s the most important ingredient if we’re going to unlock the LPGA’s potential.”
The job, he said, is the most intense of his life. He’s never had so many stakeholders at once. If done properly, he believes having that many people in one boat moving in the same direction will be an advantage.
Vision and communication stand at the heart of it.
“In four months, I think we’ve seen a lot of great improvement in things that I feel like we should have been in that position more a long time,” said LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko, who has served on the board.
In bringing on Aramco as title sponsor at Shadow Creek next spring, Kessler has waded into waters his predecessor avoided. With so many of the tour’s stars playing – and winning – Aramco events on the Ladies European Tour, it’s been clear that the vast majority of the tour would welcome an infusion of Golf Saudi money. Many have said as much over the years.
The LPGA’s Aramco announcement hasn’t attracted much criticism thus far. When Kessler was asked by Golfweek how he’d respond to those with concerns about a women’s organization getting involved with a country plagued by a long history of human rights abuses, especially toward women, Kessler offered two points.
“First, change happens one step at a time,” he said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, but it happens one step at a time. The second thing that I would say is it’s not lost on us that Golf Saudi is now funding the hopes and dreams of professional athletes, and we’re grateful for that.”
The vast majority of the feedback from sponsors and players alike, he said, has been “extremely positive.”
“I’ve always felt in every job I’ve ever been in, that peace is better than war,” said Kessler, “and finding a way to collaborate, if it’s possible, is the right answer.”
As for a potential merger between the LPGA and LET, Kessler left the door open. The LET membership was set to vote on the matter at the end of the 2023 season, but the vote was canceled suddenly.
“I think it’s great to see that we can come together in something like this,” Ko told Golfweek. “I think there has been a few years where golf has become separated in parts, and I think the more we can bring this sport together and bring people together, it’s better for the growth of the game.
“I don’t know, I think in any decision, you can’t make 100 of 100 people happy. But I do believe that this is a great step forward to miss seeing what the potential partnership could be. I don’t know if it will only stay as a tournament partner, or it could be much more to that.”
On Monday evening, the recently retired Stacy Lewis, a two-time major champion and former No. 1, received the LPGA Founders Award for embodying the spirit of the women who laid the groundwork. Lewis was on the search committee that hired Kessler.
In her acceptance speech, she shared with the room that back in 2009, when the tour was embroiled in turmoil, a young Lewis was “blown away” by how invested top players were in the health of the tour – more than their own games.
Three years later, when she became the No. 1 player in the world after a victory at a tournament aptly named the Founders Cup, she went back home to Florida and had dinner with World Golf Hall of Famers Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon. Lewis was expecting them to give a talk about her game or tips on how to practice. Instead, she heard the following message: You’re No. 1 in the world; you’re an American; you’re going to be asked to do a lot of things. You need to do everything that you can.
“We’re kind of in that moment of change again,” said Lewis. “We’ve got a lot of new staff; we’ve got a lot of new players; and I hope you guys all can learn to love the tour the way I have, the way our founders did. And I challenge all of you to take care of it in a way our founders would approve.”
It’s a message that must still emanate from the top. Both inside and outside the ropes.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler making bold moves, delivering big wins
