The LPGA made a mistake. Its commissioner admitted as much. And yet, days later, the debate over how the tour handled its season opener still hasn’t cooled.
Craig Kessler has been on the job barely six months, but the 40-year-old LPGA commissioner already has pushed through significant change: a new broadcast deal, new commercial partnerships that promise more money for players, and a high-profile alignment with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL venture.
Last Sunday, though, Kessler faced a very different test — one that played out in real time, under a microscope, and without the benefit of being on site.
As unseasonably cold temperatures gripped the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona, Kessler was 1,000 miles away at his home in Dallas, trying to determine whether the tournament could — or should — be completed.
“On the phone, reading materials from sunup until sundown,” Kessler told GOLF.com this week. “Constantly trying to source as much information as possible in order to make an informed decision.”
That information came from everywhere: tournament and rules officials, LPGA executives, players, caddies, grounds crew members and partners. Ultimately, though, the responsibility landed squarely with Kessler. He had to decide whether to shorten the event to 54 holes and declare Nelly Korda the winner without a single shot being struck Sunday.
“One of the tougher calls I’ve had to make in my six months with the LPGA,” he said. “No matter what we decided, there were going to be people who disagreed.”
They did.
Much of the criticism centered on whether Lake Nona was actually unplayable — or simply unpleasant.
Below-freezing temperatures greeted players Sunday morning. Amy Yang, one of eight players who hadn’t completed her third round Saturday, described the greens as “frozen” and “unplayable” when she arrived for the scheduled 10 a.m. restart.
Ricki Lasky, the LPGA’s chief tour business and operations officer, said the early feedback from players raised concerns.
“The grounds were really hard and it was changing the trajectory of their shots,” Lasky said. “The balls were releasing when they weren’t supposed to.”
The tour pushed back tee times repeatedly — from 10 a.m. to 11, then noon, then 1 p.m. — before finally settling on a 2:15 p.m. start. By then, there wasn’t enough daylight left to complete both the third and fourth rounds.
That decision raised eyebrows, particularly because the celebrity portion of the event had gone off at 10 a.m. Among those in the field was Annika Sorenstam, who told Golfweek she was surprised play hadn’t resumed for the LPGA.
“It’s difficult, it’s cold, but it’s as fair as anything,” Sorenstam said.
Yang, after finishing her third round with a 69 and securing solo second, echoed that sentiment. “It got much better,” she said. “Still very cold, but much better than the morning.”
What wasn’t communicated publicly on Sunday — but surfaced later in a memo from Kessler to players — was his concern about player safety. In that note, Kessler acknowledged that the decision ran counter to earlier statements and admitted his worry that hardened turf could lead to injuries.
“Hand on heart, based on the information I had available when the call needed to be made, I had real concern about the potential for player injury,” Kessler said.
There is precedent for tournaments being shortened after 54 holes, but almost always because weather makes play impossible not only Sunday but Monday as well. Ending an event over the risk of wrist injuries or stingers is virtually unheard of at the professional level.
Still, Kessler believed the circumstances were exceptional — especially in Week 1 of the season.
The other unresolved question: why not finish on Monday?
“We weren’t fully prepared,” Kessler said.
That preparation gap spanned everything from staffing and volunteers to broadcast and sponsor obligations. The LPGA simply wasn’t equipped to host a fifth day of competition for 39 players.
“In hindsight, I wish we had spent a little bit more time thinking about solutions that would have allowed us to get all 72 holes in,” Kessler said.
He declined to detail what those solutions might look like, though future options could include more aggressive scheduling ahead of poor forecasts. What he did concede was that the tour’s communication fell short.
In his memo to players, Kessler apologized directly: “Our communication around the decision wasn’t clear or timely enough. Your frustration is valid — I own that, and I’m sorry.”
Korda, the beneficiary of the decision after her brilliant third-round 63, largely backed the tour.
“At the end of the day, the LPGA made the decision to look after their players,” she said.
Kessler insists he has no regrets about the call itself — only about the preparation and the messaging that followed.
“The two themes are preparation and communication,” he said. “Plan A, B and C — and explaining our decisions in plain English so people understand why we made them.”
The LPGA now has time to reset. Its next event doesn’t begin until Feb. 18 in Thailand, launching a three-week swing in Asia.
“I know I made a tough call from a very good place,” Kessler said. “There’s been fallout. But I’m proud of the momentum we’re building, and I hope we can get back to that quickly.”
The apology was necessary. The questions, though, aren’t going away — and next time, the LPGA will be judged not just on the decision it makes, but on whether it’s truly ready for it.
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