For the LPGA pros, the circuit is littered with many issues. For Nelly Korda, it’s the 2025 LPGA protocol that “strictly” enforced the rule of no practicing during pro-am events, meaning no extra chips or putts during pro-ams. It bothered her so much that she admitted in April “not having that kind of sucked.” For Lexi Thompson, however, the LPGA is littered with a different kind of issue. In 2024, she expressed frustration upon learning that the LPGA would split weekend tee times on Sunday for the 2024 CME Group Tour Championship to accommodate NBC’s broadcast schedule, saying, “Bummed I won’t be able to embrace all the incredible fans on 18 tomorrow as I finish.” The point? The LPGA is dealing with many issues at once, and the new CEO, Craig Kessler, has his work cut out for him. Can he deliver?
The answer to that question will come in a few years; however, the new LPGA CEO, Craig Kessler, does have a few plans to set things in motion. During a recent exclusive interview with Golf.com, Kessler reiterated a point he made last month, “Urgency is at the core of what we’re going to do. At the highest level, we’re trying to create an organization where all of our stakeholders say something magical is happening at the L.P.G.A. and we need to be in now.”
Now, Kessler has shared a similar but more ambitious plan. In his interview, Kessler shared, “I hope that in three, four, or five years, people look back and some of the things that they’re saying now about the WNBA about the NWSL, these… these leagues that have had their moment or having their moment. I can’t wait for us to have our turn. And I’ll tell you what. After meeting so many players out there, their agents, their parents, that their stories are inspiring, and the world needs to hear them.”
Of course, that wouldn’t come without a few challenges. A significant hurdle for Kessler is that individual tournament sponsors depend on the LPGA, and they will only invest if they see value for their brands through attendance or TV viewership. And the LPGA is struggling with the latter one. For instance, at the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, only 428,000 viewers tuned in to NBC for the final round, down from last year’s 867,000 viewers.
And then there are financial problems. In 2024, former LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcouz Samaan, the circuit suggested that the LPGA Tour would “be slated to lose” around $2 million, despite having “invested heavily on increasing exposure for the Tour,” she announced that the efforts have “come up short.”
And that stands in sharp contrast with other sports like the WNBA. The WNBA boasts stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, and it also benefits from substantial financial backing. The NBA, which has an ownership interest in the WNBA, provides the league with millions of dollars annually, creating a crucial financial safety net. Given these hurdles, LPGA leaders will likely explore solutions everywhere, including potential partnerships with LIV Golf, particularly in light of the significant pay disparity between women’s and men’s professional golf.
The LPGA circuit will likely join hands with LIV Golf in the coming times
Here are some stats to begin this particular conversation: Unlike their PGA Tour counterparts, many LPGA players struggle to earn enough to afford luxuries like private flights to events. The earnings disparity is stark: in 2024, only 34 LPGA players topped $1 million in earnings, compared to 137 PGA Tour players who surpassed that mark. Notably, the PGA Tour had only 125 players with full playing privileges, yet many more players were able to earn over $1 million.
Considering such numbers, Meg Adkins shared her thoughts on the possibility of LIV entering the women’s game in a recent Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Talking about the same, she said, “with barely any financial footing to stand on, the only option for LPGA leadership is to show a willingness to listen to potential proposals.” However, that’s also thanks to the fact that “the LPGA can’t afford to upset an organization that could gobble it up with a snap of a finger.”
Discussions about the partnership between LIV Golf and the LPGA have been ongoing for some time. For example, in February, former interim commissioner Liz Moore had “a couple of conversations” with LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil. Earlier, in 2022, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, the former LPGA commissioner, stated, “I would engage in a conversation if it would achieve our aim of promoting women’s golf, but there needs to be input from players and sponsors.”
And, hey, if these conversations and Craig Kessler’s promises hold up, women’s golf could be on the verge of a major transformation.
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