For decades, the LPGA Tour has delivered world-class golf. And more often, the moments have remained hidden behind tape delays and fragmented coverage because of limited visibility. But now, fortunately, the imbalance is being directly addressed. Despite producing some of the most technically sound players in the sport, the tour has long been asked to grow without being fully seen.  And it’s time for the impeccably talented girls to get the same rights as men that they never received.

It has just been 120 days since Commissioner Craig Kessler has been in the role. And he has introduced a vision that was indeed overdue. Record prize money, and a comprehensive live television coverage across North America. And this isn’t just a mere administrative move. It’s a step towards treating women’s golf as worthy of real-time attention and high-quality broadcasts. Right after this update hit the headlines, a retired LPGA Tour pro shared her unfiltered opinion on the matter.

Former LPGA Tour icon Michelle Wie West joined sports analyst RJ Ochoa in his Golf Talk podcast. While having a quality candid conversation, the host reflected on how the LPGA Tour has recently been introduced to a few changes under the administration of Kessler. He stated that it’s not about a “political gain” but how finally, people could manage to move past the stereotypes as the LPGA would be broadcast live. “Every single round will be broadcast live. That is such a huge thing… fans of golf have begged for this for forever”, the host added, asking for Wie West’s take on the scenario.

Michelle Wie West immediately started off by stating, “I mean, it’s huge news, but it also at the same time feels so simple, right?” She explained her take and said, “It’s like wait, we haven’t been live. And it’s it’s those small steps that are hugely monumental. And I think what people don’t really understand is that, you know, we’re directly in competition, you know, with the men in terms of TV viewership, seasons, time, it’s not like one can play during the day. We’re playing exactly the same time. So, you know, 100% or almost 100% of our rounds being broadcasted live is huge.” 

Wie West further continued, “I’m extremely excited for 2026, and you know for for golf giving space to fans to show up, and that is everything for women’s sports. We just have to provide space for the fans to show up and really look at it as a great media product.”

Looking forward to better days, the retired tour pro stated, “I think they’re starting to integrate more and more technology Trackman data but we obviously have a ways to go still, and I think it’s just you know we’re just chipping away at it and chipping away to make the best media product that we can.” And Nelly Korda herself has voiced her excitement about this new change in the LPGA.

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Nelly Korda welcomes LPGA’s new era under Craig Kessler’s leadership

Right after joining the LPGA as the newly elected CEO, Craig Kessler was aiming for quite a few major changes to be introduced in the tour. And the one he chose to start off with was to sign a deal with mutual insurer FM for upgrading the broadcast production. Right before the end of the season, Commissioner Kessler stated, “When you start a partnership, it’s important to come out of the gates strong. And if you execute well, it opens up the possibility for lots of amazing things to happen. It’s no different here.”

Showing enthusiasm towards such huge news, Korda exclaimed, “For us to finally get our shot at having live TV and for people investing in our product out here has been amazing.” Nelly Korda further added, “I can’t wait to see where it’s going to go, but it all comes down to having great leadership, and that’s what we really do have here at the LPGA.”

Kessler’s run towards getting better doesn’t stop here. He recently stated, “I hope the LPGA is quickly perceived as one of the best partners in all of sports. We do what we say we will do, and we’ll have to take that into account as we bring to life what we believe is the optimal schedule.” This change marks a major step forward for the LPGA.