When the LPGA was in the process of selecting its new commissioner earlier this year, Brittany Lincicome laid out her expectations of the tour’s new leader.
“I think what we’re lacking,” the two-time major champion told Sports Illustrated in May, “somebody coming in and kind of like a [former commissioner] Mike Whan, where it was, ‘How can I help you? What do you need me to do? How do I make the tour better?’ And not how I further my career.
“So somebody that comes in and really cares about the players and trying to help us all as a whole grow and not just themselves.”
Now, Craig Kessler, roughly 120 days into his tenure as commissioner, is fulfilling those obligations, proving he’s not afraid to shake things up—and take risks.
“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 [for] a long time,” LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko said Tuesday at the season-ending Group CME Tour Championship.
How so?
First, a monumental announcement was made that every round of every tournament will be broadcast live in the U.S. for the first time, starting next year. And the production will be enhanced with additional interviews and drone shots.
To achieve that goal, FM, which sponsors the FM Championship in Boston, a tournament that boasted the largest non-major purse in 2025, is making a substantial investment in the tour.
Kessler’s interpersonal skills helped bring that to fruition.
“Had a chance while we [were at the FM Championship] to go on a walk with Malcolm [Roberts], their CEO,” Kessler said Wednesday, “and over 45 minutes realized FM is an organization that places bets and is a transformational organization. Not incremental bets, but thinks about major moves to make a difference in everything that they do.
“And what I realized during that conversation with Malcolm is that we’re a match made in heaven, our two organizations. What we need are transformational partners who believe in us, are going to take a little bit of risk to take the LPGA to the next level. From there it was a handful of conversations, not only with Malcolm’s team, but also with CAA to help bring this to life.”
Also, the 2026 LPGA schedule was announced on Wednesday. One of Kessler’s goals was to limit the zig-zagging around the country during the season, and it appears the LPGA is inching toward that objective in 2026.
“On schedule, hopefully you’ve heard us talk about routing, courses, and purses,” said Kessler, who was previously the chief commercial officer for the PGA of America. “We are ruthless on all three of those fronts. We feel really good about the first half of the schedule next year as it relates to routing. We know we've got some more work to do on courses and purses, and we have the mindset of continuous improvement.”
🚨 THE 2026 LPGA TOUR SCHEDULE IS HERE 🚨
— LPGA (@LPGA) November 19, 2025
The 2026 schedule features 33 events across 13 different countries and 13 different states with a total prize fund of over $132 million, the largest prize fund in the Tour's history. 👏
FULL SCHEDULE ⬇️ https://t.co/Y54SSSrkcd
That includes a partnership with the controversial Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund for a regular-season tournament in 2026 at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour. It’ll have a $4 million purse, the largest on tour for a non-major.
Another tweak for the tour in 2026 will be the relocation of the Chevron Championship, the year’s first major. In 2023, the tournament moved to the Club at Carlton Woods just outside of Houston after 50 years in California. Since then, the event has felt flat, particularly with lackluster crowd sizes. Although not official yet, the major will reportedly be held at Memorial Park in Houston next season, a month after the PGA Tour’s Houston Open.
Instead of digging its heels in the ground, Kessler and his team were innovative and made a much-needed change.
“The Chevron is our first major of the year,” the 39-year-old said. “It’s absolutely critical. And what [Ricki Lasky, the LPGA’s chief tour business and operations officer and team, along with the Chevron team have been focused on, is making sure we maximize the impact of that major. Can draw as many fans as we possibly can to it to create energy that majors and all of our tournaments deserve, and as soon as we have anything more formal to say on that of course we will.”
More changes could include an Asia major
And Kessler won't shy away from making more alterations, big and small. In his presser Wednesday, he was asked if the LPGA could play a major championship in Asia. His response was “absolutely.”
Why?
“We should go where the opportunity is to highlight our amazing athletes, and if that’s Asia, fantastic,” he said.
Yet, Kessler will be the first to admit his work isn’t even close to being done. However, just baby steps into his tenure, it feels like the sky is the limit for the LPGA.
“Even when we get [the LPGA’s breakthrough moment], we’ll never be totally satisfied,” Kessler said, “because this is an organization, as I mentioned, of continuous improvement and the line the bar will always move.”
The tour’s 13 founders, who worked tirelessly 75 years ago to create and promote what is now one of the longest-running women’s sports associations, would be proud of that sentiment.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Four Months Into Tenure As LPGA Commissioner, Craig Kessler Is Taking Risks.
