Kessler has only been on the job for half of a year, but he has already made several significant changes that signal things will be different for the LPGA moving forward. He orchestrated a seismic new television broadcast deal<\/a> to ensure every tournament round could be seen live on Golf Channel or CNBC. He brought in Golf Saudi as a sponsor for a new tournament with a $4 million purse. He moved the Chevron Championship to Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston and is starting to rework the schedule to maximize its value.<\/p>\n Kessler has big visions and, so far, has demonstrated the ability and willingness to do things his predecessors either couldn\u2019t or wouldn\u2019t. The 2026 season is a massive one for the LPGA and the Kessler era. It can serve as a launching pad for the massive growth that players and executives envision, leading to the breakthrough women\u2019s golf has been waiting for.<\/p>\n A pivotal season begins at the end of January, with five key players and five questions shaping a season that can be the start of a slow build to the moment Kessler and the LPGA envision. <\/p>\n Craig Kessler\u2019s next move<\/p>\n We\u2019ll start with Kessler. <\/p>\n As noted, he has hit the ground running since taking over, and it\u2019s clear that his opening flurry of moves was just the start.<\/p>\n At the CME Group Tour Championship in November, Kessler further outlined his approach to positioning the LPGA to capture the eyeballs it seeks. That starts with the television broadcast deal, which has already been improved, but also requires raising the profile of the LPGA\u2019s biggest stars, both inside and outside of the ropes. <\/p>\n Enter: WTGL, a women\u2019s simulator league<\/a> that was announced this week by the LPGA and TMRW Sports, which owns TGL. <\/p>\n Kessler said he started hearing from players about the possibility of a women\u2019s TGL before he even officially took over. TMRW Sports\u2019 Mike McCarley said that while the focus right now is on getting WTGL off the ground, there is interest in having LPGA players share the stage with PGA Tour stars in a crossover event. As the LPGA looks to reach a wider audience, the WTGL offers an avenue into a younger and more diverse audience. <\/p>\n \u201cI think it means so much,\u201d Lexi Thompson told ESPN\u2019s Matt Barrie<\/a> of the creation of the WTGL. \u201cIt just brings a whole different fan base to the game of golf. I think that\u2019s what is needed. It\u2019s quicker golf, all those shots, hitting into a screen. I think fans just really get involved more and see the personalities of the guys, and now the women. I think it\u2019s just amazing for the game of golf in general.\u201d<\/p>\n From a new television deal to the WTGL, Kessler has already taken several notable swings as he looks to elevate women\u2019s golf to the space it should occupy. His next moves will be just as important as his first. <\/p>\n Nelly Korda\u2019s bounceback<\/p>\n A year after winning seven times, Korda went winless in 2025<\/a> despite stats suggesting her game was mostly at the same level. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely been an interesting year I would say,\u201d Korda said at the CME Group Tour Championship. \u201cThere has been good; there has been flashes of really good; there has been flashes of I don\u2019t know what just happened. I would say overall that\u2019s just kind of golf. Coming off last year, it\u2019s kind of always going to be difficult to back that up.\u201d<\/p>\n Korda had a chance to win the U.S. Women\u2019s Open but was unable to run down eventual champion Maja Stark on Sunday at Erin Hills. She would drop to No. 2 in the Rolex Women\u2019s World Golf Rankings and fail to contend in any of the year\u2019s final three majors. And yet, despite a goose egg in the 2025 win column, Korda, the LPGA\u2019s biggest star, didn\u2019t view it as a failure. It was merely the ebb and flow of a sport won and lost on the finest of margins<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s honestly a fine line,\u201d Korda said. \u201cIt comes down to sometimes one shot. It\u2019s like one putt lips out and you don\u2019t get your momentum. It\u2019s just such a fine line when it comes to golf.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily think that I\u2019m a worse golfer or a better golfer. I would say that maybe last year few more things were going my way. That\u2019s just kind of how golf is. I\u2019ve never going to have a pity party and never going to be like, oh, why is it in this divot or why did I get that bad bounce. It\u2019s just sports. That\u2019s just how they are. Sometimes you get a wave of good bounces and good breaks and sometimes you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n But as the LPGA enters a pivotal season after one dominated by parity, how Korda bounces back \u2014 and potentially re-emerges as the dominant force in the women\u2019s game \u2014 will be vital. The depth of talent on the LPGA is evident. You don\u2019t get a season with 29 unique winners and only two repeat champions without it. But as the LPGA seeks to build toward its breakthrough, having one or two dominant stars who can reach a wider audience <\/a>is at the very least needed, if not imperative. <\/p>\n \u201cAs a tour and even from a fan perspective, yes, it\u2019s great to have somebody like Nelly that was so dominant last year,\u201d Hall of Famer Lydia Ko said. \u201cCatches a lot of attention, especially with her \u2014 in Nelly\u2019s case, being an American player. That catches a lot of different attention. In the case of even if you don\u2019t play golf, you know who Tiger Woods is. Like having that kind of a figure is, yes, very important, but at the same time, just a level of play between the No. 1-ranked player on the CME rankings to 100, I think the talent is not that far different.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a double-edged sword in that sense that you want the depth and the talent because you just want to see the whole game grow, but at the same time, if I was to market someone it\u2019s much easier to market one person than 30 people.\u201d<\/p>\n How will Nelly Korda bounce back in 2026? That might be the defining question of the season ahead. <\/p>\n \u2018Double-edged sword:\u2019 LPGA\u2019s big conundrum has no clear answer<\/a><\/p>\n By:<\/p>\n Jeeno Thitikul\u2019s encore<\/p>\n While Korda was trudging to a winless 2025, Thitilkul dominated the season<\/a> in every way that mattered except one. <\/p>\n The 22-year-old won three times, finished in the top three eight times and carded 14 top 10s. She won the Player of the Year Award and the Vare Trophy, breaking Annika Sorenstam\u2019s record for lowest scoring average in LPGA history along the way. <\/p>\n Thitikul did everything in 2025, including eclipsing Korda as World No. 1, except for win her first major. She entered the weekend at the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA as one of the main contenders but watched as Minjee Lee cruised past her on the weekend in Frisco. Thitikul had the Evian Championship in her grasp on Sunday before Grace Kim stole it from her in a playoff. <\/p>\n In a year that became defined by parity, Thitikul was the dominant force. She has a chance to back it up in 2026, break through on a major stage and become one of the faces of the LPGA. <\/p>\n Charley Hull\u2019s potential breakthrough<\/p>\n Charley Hull is one of the LPGA\u2019s needles. Crowds flock to her when she\u2019s in the field. Her popularity has built over the past few seasons and rivals Kordas. <\/p>\n As noted above, the LPGA needs stars and needs them to win on the course and put themselves out there off it. Kessler commended Hull for being one of the LPGA\u2019s top stars who is willing to branch out outside of golf. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just being myself,\u201d Hull told GOLF. \u201cI think it\u2019s great that they invited me [to the UK state dinner]. I\u2019ve had a pretty good year, and it was nice. I do think it is a good thing for the women\u2019s game of golf to have people acknowledging it and, yeah, I\u2019m just being myself.\u201d<\/p>\n But the 29-year-old Hull is still waiting for her big breakthrough moment. She has eight career wins, including three on the LPGA, but has yet to capture a major championship. Hull has four career runner-ups in majors, including the 2025 AIG Women\u2019s Open, where her Sunday charge came up short,<\/a> and Miyu Yamashita left with the trophy. <\/p>\n Hull\u2019s a star. She\u2019s a tremendous talent who hits it long and has the type of personality the LPGA needs to amplify more. But can her results start to match or exceed her exploding popularity? The answer will be important to the vital season ahead.<\/p>\n Golf was Lexi Thompson\u2019s life. She wanted something more<\/a><\/p>\n By:<\/p>\n
\n ![\"Nelly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/nelly-korda-jeeno-thitikul.jpg\")
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\n Josh Schrock <\/a><\/p>\n
\n ![\"Lexi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/lexi-thompson.jpg\")
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