New LPGA commissioner: The player his kids can’t wait to meet and the 4 pillars that define his vision

Craig Kessler is the LPGA’s new commissioner and there’s one player his three young sons are excited to meet first: World No. 1 Nelly Korda.

Kessler and his wife, Nicole, have plenty of Lego sets in their Dallas home—where they will continue to reside once he starts his new role July 15—and they’re ready to gift one to Korda in a few weeks at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Frisco, Texas.

Earlier this year, Korda found a new hobby in building Lego sets in her downtime at tournaments as a way to relax.

“Our boys are 5, 7 and 9. Our Lego collection is extensive to say the least,” Kessler said Thursday while speaking with reporters. “They’ve already picked out the Lego set they plan to bring Nelly at the KPMG in a few weeks.”

That will be a surprise. What won’t be a surprise is what you get with the 39-year-old Kessler, the former chief operating officer at the PGA of America and former COO of Topgolf. He’s ready to hit the ground running after being revealed on Thursday as the pick from the LPGA Board of Directors.

“I don't think this is one of those opportunities where we start with 100 days of listening. It's time to explode out of the gates,” Kessler said.

His passion for the LPGA is palpable, and he’s a lifelong fan of the sport. He grew up in San Diego playing golf, and his sons got their start in the game in hitting bays at Topgolf. The family had a conversation about the new job before Kessler decided to take it. They all had probing questions.

“Our 7-year-old looked at me and he said, ‘but dad, you're a boy and I'm a boy, so why don't you just do boy sports,’” Kessler said. “Which, by the way, provided the most incredible teaching moment. We shared with them, ‘look if all we did in life were things that looked like us, that sounded like us, we're sort of missing the plot and leaving so much richness in life on the table.’”

His family will be traveling with him to some tournaments, and his youngest son only wanted to make sure there’s chocolate milk on the Asia swing.

Kessler is the 10th commissioner of the LPGA, but third in the last five years. Mollie Marcoux Samaan took the job in 2021, then announced her resignation in November. She was done in January and Liz Moore had been the interim commissioner since.

Asked how he planned to stabilize the commissioner’s role, Kessler said: “It goes back to the strategy, it’s the team, the players, the sponsors, the staff, the media. If together we’re aligned on a handful of very clear priorities that ladder up to a vision, the future is incredibly bright. By the way, these principles apply to all organizations, not just the LPGA. We will run this organization like a business, because that’s what it is.”

Specifically, Kessler identfied four pillars that he hopes to focus on as he joins the tour: building trust, making the tour's stars visible, building the LPGA fan base and building a financial future for the tour.

Kessler has an MBA from Harvard Business School and experience running other golf organizations and non-golf companies, including Buff City Soap, an experiential retail company based in Dallas.

LPGA player president Vicki Goetze-Ackerman was a member of the search committee and is ecstatic about Kessler’s leadership.

“We heard over and over three different things. One, build trust and partnerships. For the person, that would be the No. 1 thing to do,” Goetze-Ackerman said. “The next is to have someone that was visionary to lead us into the future. And the last was someone that was energetic, had drive and passion, and clearly Craig Kessler has all those things. There's not one person that has met Craig through this process that hasn't been wowed.”

The LPGA needs to get to work on many things, like continuing to increase purses, land more title sponsors and have Korda, Charley Hull, Jeeno Thitikul and the best players in the game become household names. The WNBA, NWSL and other women’s sports leagues have found the traction to attract higher ratings, which leads to more money and fans. The LPGA must work diligently to not be left behind.

“The resurgence in women’s sports is something I’ve celebrated and recognized,” Kessler said. “I also think it’s wonderful that there’s actually been quite a bit within the LPGA to celebrate, 75 years of history. An organization that frankly transformed women’s sports. Even in golf, purses have risen dramatically over the last year and change. Those are things worth celebrating. How do we take it to the next level? That’s right back to the vision and four pillars I was describing. If we’re successful at building trust, building visibility, building real fans and solidifying the financial foundation, I’m very bullish on the future for the LPGA.”

Regarding the global reach of the LPGA, the tour has two separate swings in Asia, and the new commissioner plans to travel there often and build upon the international visibility that’s already been created.

“The global nature of the LPGA Tour is arguably one of our most valuable assets,” Kessler said. “The fact that we're already in Asia, we're already in Europe and we're not starting from scratch is a massive opportunity for us, and the more we can lean into fans. And I love that you are using the word fans, this is so important. The more we can lean into fans around the globe who are rooting for these incredible athletes week in and week out and the more we can lean on sponsors who care deeply about the LPGA's mission, the stronger we will be. I can't wait to get going around the world, not just in the United States.”

As for some of the most important stakeholders in golf, the players, Kessler gave them an idea of what they can expect from him, starting this summer.

“I hope they know they have a commissioner who cares deeply, who's going to work his tail off to take this organization to the next level and to tell their stories because they deserve to be told,” Kessler said. “I think when the world hears them, they will fall even more in love with the LPGA.”