NAPLES, Fla. — LPGA Tour Commissioner Craig Kessler on Wednesday introduced a “flywheel” and talked about his “Venn diagram” as he announced the 2026 schedule, charting a roadmap for how the tour will capture the rise of the women’s sport.
The LPGA schedule features 31 official tournaments with a record prize pool of just over $128.5 million. Fourteen tournaments raised between $100,000 and $2 million.
The LPGA also co-sanctioned the Golf Saudi-funded Ladies European Tour event. The Aramco Series at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas will replace match play and the prize money will increase from $2 million to $4 million. Kessler did not rule out the possibility of more tournaments being held from the Aramco series.
“When you start a partnership, it’s important to come out of the gate strong,” Kessler said ahead of the season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship. “And when done well, it opens up the possibility for a lot of great things to happen, and this is no different.”
Kessler, the former chief operating officer of the PGA of America, has only been in the job for 120 days, but he has brought high energy to meeting with players and sponsors and building the coaching staff around him.
His first big move was a partnership with mutual insurance company FM for a major upgrade to broadcast production. This included a 50% increase in camera and shot-tracing technology, as well as the ability to broadcast all North American tournaments live for the first time.
“We finally got the chance to broadcast live and it was great for the people who have invested in our product,” said Nelly Korda. “I’m excited to see what the future holds, but it all depends on great leadership, and that’s what we really have here at the LPGA.”
The broadcast upgrades are the first part of Kessler’s “flywheel,” which includes a schedule with improved geographic flow. The hope is that this will generate more fans, which will help media rights and marketing partners, and strengthen the cash flow invested in the product.
“We’re still – growth stock, value stock, call it what you will – and if I’m an investor thinking about joining LPGA as a partner, now is the time,” he said. “We are yet to reach our breakthrough moment, and if there was ever a chance for me to do it as a company that wants to get behind such a remarkable organization, now is the time.”
Not much time has passed since he took over in the summer, so his schedule appears to be about the same as last year. He hosted two tournaments in Michigan in consecutive weeks in June before the KPMG Women’s PGA in Minnesota. Asia is seeing early and late swings again.
Long-term planning is about creating a schedule based on routes, golf courses, and prize money.
“I hope the LPGA will soon be recognized as one of the best partners in all sports,” Kessler said. “We do what we say we’re going to do. We have to take that into consideration as we deliver what we believe is the optimal schedule.”
His Venn diagram (three overlapping circles) describes performance, personality, marketability and a player’s willingness to promote themselves and the tour.
Kessler said he had two player meetings where he said they needed to do their part.
“And at the end I asked, ‘Who’s in it?’ And almost everyone’s hand in the room went up,” he said. “Now it’s our responsibility to actually make that happen.”
The LPGA is coming off its most unusual season in which only two players, Gino Titicle and Miyu Yamashita, won more than once. Korda is winless after winning seven titles a year ago, but even her stellar season didn’t help her build even more momentum on the LPGA.
There was energy and optimism, and Kessler was well aware that he had a long way to go.
“We’re competing in an attention economy, and it’s not just against other sports,” Kessler said. “Anything that can grab fan attention, we’re competing against it. So it’s our job to differentiate, be interesting, and capture fan mindshare in every way possible.”
