What’s really important to the LPGA Tour right now? Television rights, perhaps? Certainly so. Nelly Korda made that much clear in 2024, saying, “We need a stage. We need to be on primetime TV, and we need to showcase the talent we have out here, which is a lot.” What else? How about money? Maybe. But there’s more.

Or, at least, that’s what the seven-time major winner Juli Inkster seemed to suggest in a recent chat on Inside the LPGA Podcast. When asked how she feels about seeing “fresh faces” at the Tour as well as how she feels about the LPGA Tour’s growth, Inkster first gave a humble reply, “It’s amazing that, um, you know, this game, at my age, I can still go out and play. Maybe not compete, you know, to the highest level, but I can still go out and play.”

That is as modest as it gets. Just yesterday, Juli Inkster nearly made history at the 2025 Standard Portland Classic. If not for back-to-back bogeys on her back nine, Inkster would’ve become the oldest player in the league to make the cut. So, the 65-year-old has still got game, even if she’s lowkey modest about it.

But how does she feel about watching the league grow in the meantime? Inkster continued during the interview, “You know, I know these girls are playing for a lot of money right now, and, um, but it’s just not about the money all the time. It’s really about, you know, growing the game and meeting the sponsors, and with the fans, and thanking the volunteers.” 

And this isn’t even the first time she has suggested building relationships to grow the game of golf. During the 2025 Standard Portland Classic presser, Inkster said, “We got to make golf look fun. I think that’s our next thing, is improving a little bit on being a little more emotional out there and just enjoying the game.”

And Inkster is correct, money’s a different story now. Let’s take the U.S. Women’s Open example. When Juli won majors in 2002 and 1999, her winnings were $535,000 and $315,000, respectively. In contrast, the last two seasons’ winners of the same event, Maja Stark (2025) and Yuka Saso (2024), each earned $2.4 million from a $12 million purse.

Times have definitely changed. There’s more money than ever in the LPGA Tour. In fact, in its 75-year-old history, the league right now is offering more than $131 million for its events. So, what remains now? As Inkster points out, it’s getting closer to the sponsors and the volunteers. Unfortunately, that’s where the LPGA pros are struggling.

The trick to growing the LPGA Tour more? “Say yes more,” suggests one analyst

The suggestion about how to get things right at the LPGA started out with Justin Thomas’s move early this year. This season, Justin Thomas took a proactive measure by pushing PGA Tour players to engage more with the broadcast product. Thomas urged players to do more for the broadcast, suggesting things like pre-round interviews, mid-round chats, wearing a mic, and talking about equipment or swing changes.

Golf analyst Meg Adkins backed Thomas’s message on the LPGA side. On The Mixed Bag podcast in July, she called out top LPGA stars like Nelly Korda for not doing enough. “They need to say yes more,” Adkins said. “They need to do more walk-and-talks. They need to do more live runs. And I’m talking about the top players.”

Charley Hull‘s been outspoken about LPGA issues like slow play and the TV product. But Adkins thinks words aren’t enough anymore. So, she blasted the LPGA’s current TV approach, saying, “Right now it’s a strained relationship between the LPGA and their broadcast partner.” She thinks the LPGA needs to flip the script, asking “What more can we do for you?” instead of “What can you do for me?” She is right to suggest so.

The Tour’s multi-year television rights deal with ESPN will run through this season. Then, it does not have any other. So, the LPGA Tour needs to move, and move fast. But especially when it comes to bettering its pro players’ relationship with their sponsors.