In the LPGA program that will transform the tour, 1 goal stands above the rest

Naples, Fla. – Craig Kessler and the LPGA want – yours attention.

The new Commissioner understands that his journey will have to remove the grip and keep the desired eyeballs. It’s a big job, to be sure. But Kessler, 120 days into her run atop the LPGA, has a vision and a plan to elevate the organization to a place where it competes and wins, with everyone else fighting for its time.

“We’re competing in a high-stakes economy,” Kesssler said Wednesday at Tiburon Golf Club ahead of the CME Group Tour Championship. “It’s not against other sports. Should I put on Netflix? Shall I go out to dinner? Or play golf after all?”

The obvious follow-up question is: How does the LPGA accomplish this?

Kessler has touted his four pillars of strength since being announced as commissioner in May: trust, visibility, fans and a secure financial future. In four months, Kessler has brought a sad deal to change the TV product of the LPGA, brought a new sponsor of the game with a new fund with a new fund with a fund of $ 4 Million and began to care in the United States and around the world.

On Wednesday, Kessler provided a glimpse under the hood of how the LPGA is thinking about growth and long-term success. It starts with advanced streaming. Thanks to a new partnership with FM, the golf channel and the tournament circuit every LPGA tournament will be broadcast live next year. The Broadcast will feature state-of-the-art technology, 50% more cameras, 30% more mics, drones and more capture than ever before. Kessler’s “Flywheel” to success starts with product improvement, which leads to more followers, growth and money.

It sounds easy. The truth is more complicated.

Advanced Tournants radio is just step 1 in Kessler’s Day to win the battle for long-term attention. You know you can’t get it by being on the Golf Channel every week. It’s a good start, but bigger and bolder things are needed to get the flywheel thrown. Under his leadership, the LPGA will try anything and everything to shine, capture new fans and generate interest without strings attached.

“That’s part of the magic that we’re going to spend a lot of time on over the coming weeks and months,” Kessler said. “One thing I’ll tell you is we’re going to be willing to take risks and try everything. They’re not going to work, but when they do and when we do that we hit those spots.”

Kessler pointed to Anika in the week of last week, which had Wnba Star Caitlin Clark returning with her appearance at two-am on the second and saw Kai Trump make a sponsor announcement, as the closing LPGA will take and try to make money. But Kesser was quick to note that last week’s buzz surrounding Clark and Trump is also the kind of trap the trip lacks. He wants the LPGA to be carried by several players, not one big name and not just one celebrity sighting.

“So our job is to find the perfect, balanced stories to tell so our fans can be happy week after week,” Kesser said. “If we rely on one person, be it a star or a celebrity, to carry the weight of the tour on their back, I think we’ve missed the boat. What a week it’s been at the LPGA and we have to bring it all to life.”

This capture of the attention that the LPGA plans to do requires something, however. Yes, the trip will require you to show creativity and be willing to take risks. But it also needs its best players to be stars who are willing to work there to help lift the trip. Kessler and the LPGA Know that sales and course results may not always coincide, but when they do, those players are the LPGA that must put its weight to raise it in the great discussion of sports and culture.

“This is how we think about stars in the LPGA,” Kesser said. “Think of a venn diagram with three circles. You have the best players, you have the best players and you have those who are actually willing to rely on the venn resources and create that player and fan connection.”

Once again, nothing is as simple as it sounds. To achieve this, the LPGA is faced with a question that must be answered in order to turn the academic vision into a concrete reality.

This season on the LPGA has seen just two winners on clay No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul and Rookie of the Win Winner Miyu Yamashita. There have been 29 different winners. Nelly Korda, a seven-time winner in 2024, has none. Charley Hull and Lydia Kowa each won once. The LPGA has depth and relationships. But if you want to grab attention and break a large audience, Starpower is the natural answer.

But for Kessler, Starpower doesn’t just mean raising the antlers and mastering 72 holes. It is important. But the lesson passes. You must be in this app for it to work.

“There are no silver bullets in building stars, and that’s where nature takes over,” Kesser said. “There are so many examples that we can point to, whether it’s what Nelly did with going to the Met Gala or with Sports are shownor charley going to a state party in the uk or some of the latest things he has done in public. I can take it from various actors and the things they have done to express themselves in the culture, not within the lines. Those things make a difference.

“We made a big piece of our user base our fans. What the fans like and the fans want to see more of.

Getting players to buy into his vision and plan takes trust. You will remember that it is the first pillar. For Kessler, that’s about having constant communication with his players. He traveled to his home states for lunches and rounds of golf. He is always texting and calling his players. He wants them to know that he has a plan and that, if they trust him and his vision, the LPGA can reach new heights.

So far, Kesser has succeeded in strengthening that first pillar. Lida Ko praised her leadership at today’s Tuesday conference. Biswee Lee gave similar praise.

Last week at Anika, Kessler held a player’s meeting where he told his members what was required of them and where to go.

“Did they ask what we can do? And we said, here’s what we need you to do. If we ask you to go on foot, you can find it. Now it’s going to do that in life.”

Kessler is building something. A moment. A place in the sports conversation the LPGA has never occupied before. He sees how broken the WNBA and women’s soccer are and believes women’s golf can do the same.

But ask him where he ends up, and Craig Kessler can’t give you anything concrete. That is design. Kessler understands the size of the task at hand. The climb will be windy and the path will not be linear. Innovation and risk-taking will be essential to bring women’s golf its moment.

“He’s one of those guys where you’ll know it when you see it and you’ll hear it,” Kessler said. “But guess what, even if we get there, we won’t be completely satisfied because this is an organization, like I said, and the bar will always be moving.”

Does Kesser have it – yours attention?

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