LPGA Tour TV coverage is getting a major upgrade in 2026

NAPLES, Fla. — LPGA Tour broadcasts are getting some much-needed enhancements aimed at improving the viewer experience, something the players themselves have been asking for.

On Tuesday, the tour announced that it had formed a partnership with Golf Channel, FM and Trackman to add live coverage, state-of-the-art technology equipment, content, cameras and more for all its tournaments in 2026.

“The commitments from FM, Trackman and Golf Channel are a game-changer for our athletes, our fans, our partners and our Tour,” said Craig Kessler, the LPGA commissioner, in a press release. “Starting in 2026, 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. We’re grateful for the shared vision and investment from FM, Trackman and Golf Channel. 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.”

According to the tour, every round of every LPGA tournament will be broadcast live, something that hasn’t happened since Golf Channel began broadcasting LPGA events in 1995. Select weekend rounds will air on CNBC.

In addition, there will be a 50-percent increase in cameras from 2025, including slow-motion cameras, more microphones and more walk-and-talk interviews with players and caddies. Drone coverage will be added and a focus will be on story telling of golfers.

Shortly after taking the job as commissioner in July, Kessler told Golf Digest that improvements in the broadcast were a vital part of his early to-do list. He’s now making good on that.

Golf Channel’s commitment is notable as the cable network, along with CNBC, becomes part of the USA Sports, a sports brand launched after Versant's spinoff from NBCUniversal that includes NBC's sports properties.

“Television partnership is everything really,” LPGA player Minjee Lee said on Tuesday. “Essentially, we're entertainers, so if we don't have TV times, live TV times or the slots are when a lot of people are watching TV, it's hard to really build the tour the way we want to build it.

“… So I think it'll be interesting to see where that takes us in terms of the tour, and I think having more exposure as players that's everything to us, too. It's really cool to see how [commissioner] Craig [Kessler] with his short time being on tour, how he's trying to elevate our tour, and see how we go.”

LPGA players already do walk-and-talks but there will be more now. Those interviews provide good insight. The question is if there will be continued buy-in on those.

“Obviously, it kind of depends on what routine the certain player wants,” said World No. 5 Lydia Ko. “I think it's sometimes hard, honestly, to do it because you don't know how you're going to play that hole. They might say you're going to do it on 12 and I might have hit it on the water on 12. The last thing you want to do is talk about what's been going on with your round.

“But I think our analysts and everybody have been around for a long time where they understand and kind of read the room and say, ‘OK, maybe we shouldn't talk to her right now and get another opportunity.'

"I think it's cool in the perspective of fans to hear what the players are really thinking. Even though the microphone is there you don't catch all the conversations with the caddie and the interactions. It's kind of like an inside-the-ropes experience."