Men’s and women’s golf are about to come together in one of the most exciting events in the sport. The 2025 Ryder Cup is bound to be a thrilling contest for many reasons. Everyone wants to see the battle between Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau. Some might also be eager to watch Scottie Scheffler‘s match with Jon Rahm. But before it all begins, fans will see a special guest at the beginning of the event.

Golfweek shared a tweet revealing a guest appearance in collaboration with Craig Kessler and the LPGA Tour at Bethpage. Team Europe Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist will be on the first tee before the event begins. Reports also reveal that the Team U.S. captain will also be at Bethpage, but only as a spectator. She hasn’t opted to join her rival from Europe on the tee zone in the prestigious event.

Despite her absence from the fairway, Stanford was pretty excited about the opportunity she was receiving. She told Golfweek, “I just want to learn. I want to see the behind the scenes. And then when we started talking about it more, credit to (LPGA commissioner) Craig (Kessler), he was the one that was like, ‘hey, you’re going to be on the first tee. It’s important for maybe us to start,’ he said, ‘just like the Ryder Cup captains need to be on our tee.”

She couldn’t help but give credit to Kessler for curating the opportunity. Even though it’s Nordqvist who will be making the best use of it, Stanford is still grateful to be put in the position to make the choice. This also opens the gate for other LPGA Tour stars to join the field for the Ryder Cup in the future. While they won’t participate in the event, Nelly Korda & Co. would certainly get to learn a lot watching their male counterparts compete against each other for national glory.

Retiring LPGA Tour star Stacy Lewis also discussed the opportunity at Bethpage. She mentioned how disappointed she was when the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour couldn’t collaborate in 2023 when the Solheim Cup and the Ryder Cup were played within a week of each other in Rome. “I think it was a missed opportunity for the sport of golf,” she had said back then. After Kessler orchestrated this special appearance for Stanford, we’re sure even Lewis will be pretty happy with his efforts.

Interestingly, this is not the first big move Craig Kessler has made since he took over as the LPGA Tour commissioner. Let’s look at another big deal he made recently that caught a lot of attention.

Craig Kessler is making big moves for the LPGA Tour stars

In 2024, the PGA Tour cut ties with a number of sponsors after they couldn’t come to terms on new contracts. One of them was Fortinet, which sponsored PGA Tour Americas and Canada events. Jay Monahan & the PGA Tour’s loss turned into Craig Kessler & the LPGA Tour’s gains.

In August 2025, reports confirmed that the new LPGA Tour commissioner had brought on Fortinet as a sponsor for women’s golf. The Founders Cup was missing a sponsor this year. However, from 2026 onwards, the brand that left the PGA Tour will host LPGA Tour events at the beginning of the season. That would certainly bring a huge smile to Nelly Korda & Co.’s faces.