11/18/25 09:43:00
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11/18 09:41 CST LPGA has a depth of talent. What it could use is a star
LPGA has a depth of talent. What it could use is a star
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) --- What the LPGA Tour sees as a strength might be what keeps
it from gaining more traction during this surge in women's sports.
Yes, there is a depth of talent --- more power, greater precision, lower
scoring.
That much was on display Monday night during the season-ending CME Group Tour
Championship when 11 first-time LPGA winners graced the stage at a glitzy
awards dinner. Two of them, Mao Saigo and Miyuu Yamashita, are major champions.
They are among 29 winners in 30 tournaments (including a team event in
Michigan) in a most unusual year. It took until October --- the 26th official
tournament of the season --- before the LPGA had a multiple winner in Jeeno
Thitikul, the world's No. 1 player.
Equally amazing, Nelly Korda is not among the winners after seven titles in
2024.
"It's been an interesting year on the LPGA," Annika Sorenstam said after
watching a fellow Swede, Linn Grant, win her tournament on Sunday to be unique
winner No. 29.
"I think after ?24, I don't think people thought what we've seen this year
would be what it is," Sorenstam said. "It shows the depth of the tour. I think
we're in a little bit of a transition between some players and generations
maybe."
This is the third time in four years the LPGA has produced at least 11
first-time winners in a season, so maybe Sorenstam is onto something.
But depth can be a convenient way of saying that winning is hard. That's been
the case for most of the 75 years the LPGA has been in existence, and it's no
different from any other golf tour. Tiger Woods in his healthy, peak years only
won 27% of the time.
What this year illustrated going into the season finale is the LPGA is in dire
need of a star. Dominance is far more appealing than depth, and sometimes even
that isn't enough.
For all her dominance, it took Sorenstam playing on the PGA Tour at Colonial in
2003 to become a star. Scottie Scheffler already was a two-time Masters
champion and winning at an alarming rate. His Q-rating really soared after his
bizarre arrest during the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Finding a star? Now that's hard.
Korda would have seemed to fit the mold last year when she won seven times,
including a record-tying five in a row that culminated with her capturing
another major. But for all her graceful athleticism and power --- and her
heritage as the daughter of a Grand Slam tennis champion --- she is not one to
perform for the camera. The 27-year-old American is more cool customer than
celebrity.
Could she do more? Sure. Everyone can. But the last thing any sport needs are
top players trying to become someone they're not.
If the LPGA is in transition, that starts at the top. Craig Kessler was hired
as the new commissioner this summer and already is looking at foundational
changes geared toward the long run.
He has hired Monica Fee, who spent 15 years in brand partnerships at Creative
Artists Agency and the last four years building such partnerships at
Saudi-funded LIV Golf. Sean Bratches, the highly regarded television executive
who directed commercial operations for Formula 1 during its rise in North
America, was added to the LPGA board of directors.
Kessler on Tuesday announced a big partnership with FM, the Rhode Island-based
mutual insurance company that already has bought into the LPGA with a title
sponsorship at the TPC Boston with the largest purse ($4.1 million) this side
of a major.
The latest agreement with FM is to ramp up the television product in North
America, long overdue. Starting next year, every LPGA event in North America
will be shown live (instead of the occasional tournament on tape delay). That
will mean going over to CNBC at times.
More than just live TV is a 50% increase in cameras to provide for more shots
and different angles, a deal with Trackman to provide the popular shot tracing
that has become standard on the PGA Tour, and drone coverage. It's an important
upgrade.
"Fans will immediately see and feel the difference --- more cameras, better
technology, richer storytelling and more ways to appreciate the unbelievable
skill of our players, fully live," Kessler said. "This is a major step forward
for the women's game, and it's only the beginning. The next chapter for the
LPGA is going to be something special."
Any step is important.
Kessler also is letting players know what can be expected from them. There is
personality and marketability. It has to start with performance. But the third
area equally important is effort, a willingness to do more because more is
required when trying to carve out a spot in an increasingly crowded space of
women's sports.
Kessler gave the Commissioner's Award on Monday night to LPGA Hall of Fame
members. Among those on stage was Nancy Lopez, perhaps the last LPGA player who
ticked every box. She captivated women's golf in 1978, made the cover of Sports
Illustrated with her game, her smile, a captivating presence and a willingness
to carry her sport.
She wasn't the best, but there was none like her and may not be another for
some time. It also was a different era for the LPGA, not the destination like
it is now for players from Asia and Europe and every corner of the world.
The moment for another star or collection of them will present itself in time,
that unique combination of play and personality. The key will be a willingness
for players to embrace it. Kessler's job is to make sure the LPGA is ready for
it.
___
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