Paige Spiranac is one of golf’s most recognizable names, despite never having held a full LPGA Tour card or even playing professionally. She’s built a brand of her own and an image with millions of followers on social media that even outranks some pros. Yet, despite the popularity and reach, not everyone is thrilled at the idea of her becoming more involved in the LPGA’s future.

On a recent episode of The Mixed Bag podcast, hosts Meg Adkins and Matthew Galloway dig into the LPGA’s broadcast woes, rising media interest, and the tour’s direction under new commissioner Craig Kessler. The tour has been constantly under the radar for its lack of visibility and broadcast issues recently, and Adkins and Galloway discussed the probable solutions Kessler might be coming up with, since his first player meeting hosted two weeks ago. “He talked a little bit about, like, there’s some third-party content creators out there who have raised their hand and said, like, ‘We can help, let us help you tell their stories,'” Adkins began.

And then, she floated the idea of a “content creator classic” coming to the LPGA to broaden its reach. And that didn’t sit too well with Galloway, who immediately jumped in and quipped, “I swear to God, Meg, if Paige Spiranac shows up on the LPGA, then again, I want to scream at somebody.” While Galloway delivered the line with humor, his sentiment was unmistakable. For him, and many within the core golf community, the idea of Spiranac stepping into the LPGA spotlight triggers frustration.

It’s not necessarily about her personally, but what she represents — an influencer-driven image that, while wildly popular online, doesn’t stem from performance on the professional circuit. For players grinding week in and week out on tour, the idea of someone parachuting in based on social media fame can feel like a shortcut that undermines the hard-earned credibility of the sport.

But the timing of this conversation is critical. Just two weeks ago, Craig Kessler held his first player meeting at Gillette Stadium during the 2025 FM Championship, where he highlighted several key issues that he would address during his tenure. He emphasized that finding ways to get the LPGA in front of more eyes is a top priority. Kessler said he’s “spending an enormous amount of time” on finding ways to improve visibility and broadcast of the tour. He’s already brought in Sports Media Advisors to help chart a course through the media landscape, domestically and internationally, ahead of the LPGA’s next broadcast rights negotiation.

Meg Adkins also highlighted how Kessler has begun consulting with other leagues, like the WNBA and NWSL, to explore how women’s sports can be marketed creatively — a signal that more dynamic storytelling and athlete-first media could be on the horizon. That’s where Adkins brought up the idea of a creator classic, to maybe garner more visibility for the LPGA.  The PGA Tour has already been immersed in this space with success, particularly around events like The PLAYERS Championship and the Tour Championship at East Lake.

But Adkins’ idea isn’t without merit. Paige Spiranac herself has long advocated for greater visibility for women’s golf, and she’s proven there’s an appetite for golf content that’s entertaining, accessible, and untraditional. But for many, like Galloway, it would undermine the entire purpose of promoting the players themselves when they’re already battling to reach the global audience through the tour.

LPGA’s visibility issues continue

When Craig Kessler took over as LPGA Commissioner back in May, he didn’t waste time pointing out one of the tour’s biggest headaches — visibility. In a candid chat with Front Office Sports, he admitted what most fans already know: that it’s tough to find women’s golf on TV. “For so many sports, it’s easy to know when to turn on the TV or click open an app and find the players you want to see at predictable times,” he said. “It’s really, really hard to do that today with women’s golf.” And he’s right. Flipping through channels, hoping to catch a round featuring your favorite LPGA star, can feel like a guessing game.

Craig Kessler’s goal is pretty simple and it is to make it easier for fans to actually find the action. But it’s not as straightforward as it seems, as another major hurdle is broadcast predictability. “Golf is notoriously a sport where things move around based on external circumstances,” Kessler said during the player meeting, noting how LPGA events often get shifted in TV schedules, due to factors like weather delays. So while the intention to grow the audience is there, the real challenge is making sure the audience even knows where to look.

That unpredictability was also a central topic on The Mixed Bag podcast, where Adkins and Galloway unpacked just how disruptive this is —“You gotta read out these TV schedules every single week,” Galloway said. “Lord knows where they’re gonna get slotted in — a midday lunch thing, or jammed in somewhere else.” The erratic airtime not only makes it hard for fans to follow but also limits opportunities to build player recognition. Adkins previously also noted that even top players like Nelly Korda have not done enough to earn more media opportunities — “They need to do more walk-and-talks. They need to do more live runs. And I’m talking about the top players.” For the LPGA to grow, it’s not just about airtime; it’s also about athletes becoming more visible within that airtime.