Rejuvenated.
That is the word one LPGA insider used to describe the mood at the CME Group Tour Championship last week in Naples, Florida.
A year ago, the mood was heavy, as there was a general awareness that Mollie Marcoux Samaan’s tenure as commissioner was nearing the end. She announced she would step down just a week later.
It took the LPGA the better part of six months to name former Topgolf and PGA of America executive Craig Kessler as Samann’s successor, but four months in, it appears that the search effort is paying off, perhaps in spades.
The big news coming out of Naples last week was that Kessler and his team have achieved a much-needed upgrade of television coverage. An expanded partnership with commercial insurer FM will mean that every round and every event in North America will appear on linear television. This includes Golf Channel, CNBC, CBS, and NBC. As a part of the new arrangement, 50 percent more cameras and three times the number of microphones will be deployed in 2026 compared to 2025.
Importantly, every round will be televised live, a significant upgrade in coverage.
In addition, the number of Trackman shot tracers will quadruple in 2026 as the company becomes the official launch monitor and golf simulator of the LPGA.
Finally, the tour announced that it will add an unspecified amount of drone coverage to its broadcasts in 2026.
LPGA telecasts have been a sore point with the players for some time. In contrast to PGA Tour telecasts, most LPGA telecasts seem to run as bare-bones operations, with far fewer cameras and on-air personalities. Furthermore, television viewers never knew exactly where to find an LPGA broadcast and at what time; too often, LPGA events were shown on a tape-delay basis on Golf Channel, with PGA Tour Champions often receiving preference.
“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.”
Craig Kessler
CME Group CEO Terry Duffy pointed out that all of this should have happened long ago; he is not wrong. But Kessler got it done. It is hard to overstate just how important this development is for the LPGA. It is a game changer for the tour, its players, its sponsors and LPGA fans.
Kessler detailed how the FM deal came about. At the end of August, he attended the FM-sponsored LPGA event outside Boston. There, he met the FM CEO, Malcolm Roberts. At one point, they took a 45-minute walk together, and the deal was hatched.
“What I realized during that conversation is that we are a match made in heaven, our two organizations,” Kessler said. “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.”
No dollars were disclosed but suffice it to say that there are a lot of zeros in the agreement.
Sponsorship deals like this usually take months to come together, sometimes many months. They don’t typically happen within 90 days. But this one did, and it may go down as the pro golf sponsorship deal of the decade.
Kessler appeared before the media last Wednesday, providing a “state of the tour” update. During the week, he turned up on CNBC, Golf Channel, and NBC Sports. On each occasion, he was thoughtful, insightful, and confident. He is a polished public speaker. He has a “follow me” aura about him that is endearing.
Kessler’s staff has completely bought in; the energy he exudes excites everyone at LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida. More importantly, the LPGA players have completely bought in as well; they are charmed by his vision, energy, and boundless enthusiasm. And as evidenced by the FM deal, the sponsor community is starting to fall in line.
It’s still very early in Kessler’s tenure, and he still has a long to-do list. But if the first four months are an indicator, brighter days are indeed ahead for the LPGA.
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Top: Craig Kessler is wasting no time getting things done as LPGA commissioner.
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