The LPGA made a mistake. Its manager was his. But the questions persist

Craig Kessler, in his new role as LPGA commissioner, is already overseeing some big and impactful decisions on his journey: selling a new broadcasting deal; building relationships that will put more money in the pockets of his players; anchoring the LPGA near Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s indoor golf league, the TGL.

But last Sunday presented Kessler, 40, with a different kind of business challenge: how best to determine the outcome of the LPGA season opener, in real time and through the eyes of the golf world (and golf Twitter fingers) directly to him. Making things even more difficult: Kessler wasn’t at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona in Orlando — he was 1,000 miles away, at home in Dallas, trying hard to keep the reports off the ground. “On the phone, it’s learning stuff from sun up to sun down,” Kessler told GOLF.com in an interview Tuesday. “We always try to get as much information as possible to make an informed decision.”

That information — about changing course conditions, unseasonably cold weather and concerns about pushing the event to the end of Monday — came from a variety of sources: Kessler’s deputies, tournament and rules officials, players and caddies, course staff, and even marketing partners. But ultimately the decision to shorten the event to 54 holes and declare No. 2 Nelly Korda the undefeated winner on Sunday rests in Kessler’s lap.

“One of the toughest calls I’ve had to make in my six months with the LPGA,” he said. “No matter what we decide, there will be those who understand and respect it, and others who don’t. The question was there from the beginning.”

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That second guess centered on whether the Tom Fazio-designed course, which woke up in sub-zero temperatures on Sunday morning, could be played at such a high level of competition – or, more to the point, whether it becomes playable as the day progressed and the mercury dropped from the 20s to the 40s. When Amy Yang, one of the eight players who did not finish their third rounds on Saturday, arrived Sunday to prepare for the 10 a.m. restart of Round 3 she said the greens were “frozen” and “unplayable.”

Ricki Lasky, LPGA’s head of tourism and operations, added: “What we found was that we arrived at the site and spoke to many players during their warm-up that the course was difficult and was changing the trajectory of their shots during practice. [starting times].”

Reasonable minds might argue that defying the elements — thinking water doesn’t mix or wind doesn’t blow balls off the green — is at the heart of the game, but Laski and his team didn’t like what they saw and heard.

The trial was held from 10 am to 11 am. . . then at noon. . . then it’s 1pm. . . before the LPGA finally settled at 2:15 pm, by which time there was not enough sunlight left to complete both Rounds 3 and 4.

Many observers noted that the decision to postpone the game until noon was curious as the temperatures (and the golf course) were at least playable enough for a celebrity team to compete in the event; they were sent to the course hours earlier, at 10 a.m. Among the participants in the celebrity section was LPGA legend and Lake Nona resident Annika Sorenstam, who after putting together and playing nine holes on Sunday told Beth Ann Nichols that Golfweek: “I don’t know why they don’t play with pitch marks, I mean I hit some sharp shots today and the ball broke, I’m surprised.

Yang, after posting a third-round 69 that earned him runner-up honors, also described the course as “playable.” “It got a lot better,” she said. “It’s still very cold but compared to this morning at 9 when I warmed up, the situation is much better.”

Still, Kessler said he had more concerns than the competitive integrity of the setup — namely the cold risk it posed to his players. These concerns were not conveyed to the players or to the public Sunday, but in a memo — a mea culpa, really — that Kessler emailed to the players Tuesday, he said he was “concerned that our athletes could be injured because of the record low overnight temperatures that make the course difficult.” Kessler admitted in that note that “although the decision was difficult and contrary to the previous statement we shared, I made a judgment call.”

There is a precedent, of course, for calling tournaments after 54 holes (or even 36), but it almost always happens in cases where it is clear that bad weather (the wet and/or windy variety) will prevent play from being completed not only on Sunday but also on Monday. There is little, if any, example of a professional golf tournament being called due to concerns about players hitting the wrist or holding the shaft.

But Kessler said the conditions in Orlando, from what he found, were more unusual. “Honestly, based on the information I had when the call was made, I had serious concerns about the player’s injury,” he told GOLF. “Especially in the first week of the season, I think that’s something that needs to be taken seriously, and we take it seriously.”

So much so that Kessler decided to declare the champion after the third round. When the dust (snow?) settled, Nelly Korda, who shot a stunning 8-under 63 on a windy and cold Saturday, was named the winner by three.

After securing his first victory since November 2024 and his 16th LPGA title, Korda voiced strong support for the LPGA’s decision to shorten the event, saying, “At the end of the day, what we have on the line versus what the celebrities have on the line is a little different. I think the LPGA made a decision, and we’re not going to end that for its players.”

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Another question still came up, however: Why not finish the tournament on Monday, as is the practice on the PGA Tour when the event is not finished on Sunday?

“We weren’t fully ready,” Kessler said.

Confused about what that actually meant – ie, not optimized for local use? Support groups needed? Broadcasting needs? – the commissioner said: “It’s the whole nine yards. Think about the complexity of running a golf tournament. You have sponsorship considerations, player considerations, fan considerations, volunteer considerations, people who actually come to live the tournament.”

The final Monday elimination on the LPGA Tour coincided with the Championship, 2020, but that round included only two players – Gaby Lopez and Nasa Hataoka – who after five playoffs holes on Sunday were still closed, forcing the players to return to the course on Monday morning. Legally, there is, of course, a big difference regarding two players playing a few extra holes versus 39 players returning to the host site to play a full round. Whatever the reason for the LPGA’s inability to extend through Monday, the tour was not intended for the fifth day of competition.

“Looking back, I wish we had spent more time thinking about solutions that would have allowed us to get all 72 holes,” Kessler continued. “I’m not sure it makes sense to go back and work out all the details, but what I do know is that going forward, we’re going to work like hell to make sure that, if we’re in a situation like this again, we’re ready to go with those creative solutions.”

Kessler declined to say what those solutions might be, but without being better prepared to move on to Monday, perhaps that would mean, in the case of Sunday’s inclement weather, getting in more golf on Saturday. Kessler said he doesn’t regret shortening the tournament, but in his letter to players he acknowledged that “this decision, and others we made in real time, was confusing and disappointing to our fans. And our communication about the decision was not clear or timely enough. Your frustration is legitimate — I own that, and I apologize.”

Asked what, in retrospect, he could have done differently, Kessler said, “I think there are two big themes. The first is about preparation – making sure we’re ready for plan A, B and C, and we’ve thought about everything that happens from start to finish, so that if we encounter unusual situations, we’re ready to go. The second is us, our fans, who we’re contacting, our media, making sure that most of us are in contact with the media, making sure that our fans how they communicate, many people, and how our followers communicate in different situations, we speak in plain English so that people can read our statements and understand exactly what we decided and why we made a decision.”

Kessler will have a moment to process what he learned. The next LPGA event, in Thailand, doesn’t start until Feb. 18. That tournament begins a three-week swing in Asia before the tour returns to the US in mid-March.

“I know I made a tough call in a really good spot,” Kessler said. “I saw that there was disagreement, and there are people who are upset with the decision I made. At the same time, I’m very proud of what we’ve done, the momentum we’ve created, and the culture we’re starting to create with our team here. I really hope we can get back to that as soon as possible.”