That the tour could lose money at a time of unprecedented growth in women’s sports set off alarm bells for some.
The grade of an LPGA commissioner is largely attached to one thing: the schedule.
How many tournaments are being staged and how big are the purses?
But there’s another bottom line that’s important and less public, and that’s the tour’s operating budget. Multiple sources have confirmed to Golfweek that the tour is slated to lose around $2 million this year. LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said two weeks ago in her annual address that the tour’s total staff had increased by 35 percent in recent years.
The commissioner, who announced on Monday that she’s stepping down on Jan. 9, invested heavily on increasing exposure for the tour but, so far, has come up short in the return. The former Princeton athletic director said she was “building the infrastructure in order to build our global fan base.”
That the tour could lose money at a time of unprecedented growth in women’s sports – especially during a lucrative Solheim Cup year – set off alarm bells for some.
LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan speaks to the media prior to the CME Group Tour Championship 2024 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
LPGA Player Director Ashleigh Buhai wasn’t too concerned about the loss, however, saying “you’ve got to spend money to make money.”
“Everybody who comes into a lead position is going to try to do things their own way to make their own mark,” said Buhai, “and sometimes you pull it off, and sometimes you don’t.”
Given the starry headlines of 2024 – with the dynamic one-two punch of Nelly Korda’s seven-win season and Lydia Ko’s fairy-tale run into the LPGA Hall of Fame – some players were surprised to see a schedule come out that showed little growth. Official money for 2025, thus far, is up $3.6 million from last season.
“We’re moving in the right direction all the time, but the schedule is very much major heavy,” Ireland’s Leona Maguire said two weeks ago at the CME Group Tour Championship.
“The purses in the majors do disguise some things, I feel like, and the gap between us and the men seems to be growing rather than us catching up. … There couldn’t possibly have been any better golf played. I’ll just say that.”
Nelly Korda poses with the winner’s trophy after winning The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican 2024 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. (Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
As the tour sets out to find new leadership, Tim Erensen of Outlyr, a global sports, event management and lifestyle marketing agency that runs a number of LPGA events, said it’s important to find a leader who can drive corporate support to the tour and its tournaments.
“We need help with marketing partners,” said Erensen, noting the wide gap between the LPGA and PGA Tour in this area.
For former World No. 1 Stacy Lewis, communication needs to be a priority in whoever comes in next.
“You’ve got to make the tournament sponsors, the players, the tournament directors be on the same page more,” said Lewis, “more cohesiveness, more working together across the board. … Everybody’s got to work together for the same goal, and knowing what that goal is is important.”
For Buhai, the three most important areas for players in a commissioner are the ability to build trust, communication and set forth a vision for players.
Stanford grad Andrea Lee was recently elected to the LPGA Board and hopes that as a player-director she can help the tour capitalize more on the moment.
“How can we market the tour better; how can we market the top players in the world a bit better?” Lee asked last month while at the CME.
“With women’s sports overall growing exponentially, the LPGA kind of needs to do the same.”
Marcoux Samaan, the tour’s ninth commissioner, was hired in May 2021 to replace the now-current USGA CEO Mike Whan. Her five-year contract ran until the summer of 2026.
Now, the largest professional women’s tour is looking for new leadership at a time when women’s sports across the United States are at an all-time high in terms of viewership, fan interest and engagement.
As news of Samaan’s decision spread on social media, fans and others chimed in with their thoughts.
Here’s what social media had to say about the LPGA’s commissioner calling it quits.:
As expected. Bummed it didn’t work out – I like Mollie and think she meant well. Tough gig on many different fronts. https://t.co/YhRZeRKpn2
Great news, this is the perfect chance for the LPGA to get the right person in & make the correct changes to finally start getting them the coverage they deserve
I’m a big LPGA fan, and IMO the next commissioner has a huge opportunity to build on the investments in women’s sports leagues. It’s in no way simple. The great news is the potential is clear to an outstanding candidate.
To many, Marcoux Samaan’s indecisiveness became a liability.
Mollie Marcoux Samaan has resigned from her duties as LPGA commissioner. The tour announced the news just days after the conclusion of a historic 2024 season. Liz Moore, the LPGA’s Chief Legal and Technology Officer and Corporate Secretary, will assume the role of Interim Commissioner, according to a release from the tour.
“I thank Chairman John Veihmeyer and the rest of the LPGA Board for trusting me to serve as the ninth Commissioner of the LPGA,” said Marcoux Samaan in a statement. “In this role, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside a remarkable community of athletes, teachers, partners, tournament operators, industry colleagues, media, fans, volunteers, and staff who share a deep commitment to growing the LPGA and using the organization’s unique platform to empower and advance women and girls. I am proud of the unprecedented growth the LPGA has enjoyed since I began my tenure. The strategy we have built for growth and impact along with the infrastructure we have added to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity ahead will serve the LPGA well in the coming decades. With the LPGA positioned for continued growth, it’s time for me to have more time to cheer on our three amazing children as they live their dreams while I continue to pursue my passion for building leaders, uniting communities and creating value through sports, particularly women’s sports.”
Marcoux Samaan, the tour’s ninth commissioner, was hired in May 2021 to replace the now-current USGA CEO Mike Whan. Her five-year contract ran until the summer of 2026. The former Princeton athletic director was the second woman to hold the post. Carolyn Bivens was ousted by the players in July 2009.
“On behalf of the LPGA Board, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mollie for her exceptional dedication and passion in advancing the Association’s reach and impact,” said LPGA Board Chair John B. Veihmeyer. “Since joining the LPGA in 2021, Mollie has been instrumental in solidifying our position as the global leader in women’s professional golf, realizing record growth in player earnings and fan engagement. Mollie has been a steadfast advocate for equity in the sport and has worked tirelessly to expand opportunities for women and girls through the game. I am confident that the LPGA is well-positioned for continued success as we build on the growth trajectory of the past three and a half years of Mollie’s leadership. We deeply appreciate the lasting impact of Mollie’s many contributions.”
Purses have risen substantially since 2021 – major championship purses alone have more than doubled – and the largest winner’s check in the history of the women’s game of $4 million was handed out at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship to Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul.
And yet, many struggled to understand or articulate Marcoux Samaan’s overall vision for the tour. As women’s sports experience an unprecedented amount of success, is the LPGA truly capitalizing on the momentum?
For all the headlines of 2024, with the dynamic one-two punch of Nelly Korda’s seven-win season and Lydia Ko’s fairy-tale run into the LPGA Hall of Fame, not much changed.
LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan speaks during the trophy ceremony after the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship 2024 at Tiburon Golf Club on November 24, 2024, in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The LPGA’s 2025 schedule includes 33 official events – the same number as this year – with a total purse increase of $3.6 million from last season, though the tour says additional purse increases are expected to be announced.
The departure of Cognizant, a Fortune 100 company that was bullish on the LPGA from the start – signaled a red flag. The hope was that Cognizant’s leadership would sing the LPGA’s praises to other blue-chip companies and lead to organic growth.
Instead, they’re out after title-sponsoring four editions of the event, leaving the tour scrambling to financially back its own Founders Cup as the LPGA celebrates 75 years.
For a second year in a row, the LPGA will tee it up in World No. 1 Nelly Korda’s hometown of Bradenton, Florida, without a title sponsor.
In addition, the tour’s Toledo, Ohio, stop, which began in 1984, is being replaced by concurrent Epson Tour and Legends events at Highland Meadows.
The Solheim Cup transportation crisis only added to fuel to the fire. Heralded as the biggest Solheim Cup in history coming into the event, the tour clearly lacked the resources and knowledge needed to properly execute.
Folks from all corners of the tour – from players to partners to media – began to have serious doubts.
When it came to critical topics like the tour’s Gender Policy and its dealings with Golf Saudi the potential of an LET merger – the tour lacked transparency and was slow to act.
To many, Marcoux Samaan’s indecisiveness became a liability.
LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan poses with CME Group CEO Terry Duffy after announcing a two-year sponsor extension of the CME Group Tour Championship with an increased $11 million purse and record $4 million first-place prize at The Ritz-Carlton Naples in Naples, Florida. (Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
There were wins, like fully subsidized health insurance for players and an increase in missed-cut money and travel stipends.
But an awful lot of money was being spent on increased staff and exposure, and questions about the return on those investments only grew louder. Last week in Naples, Marcoux Samaan revealed that total staff had increased by 35 percent, with the marketing and content department ballooning to 39 people.
“We’ve been betting on our athletes,” Marcoux Samaan said during her state of the tour address, “betting on our staff to be able to capitalize on this next wave of growth.”
Now, it will be left to someone else to ensure there’s a payoff.
It’s difficult to imagine a better year inside the ropes for the LPGA than what’s transpired so far in 2024.
NAPLES, Fla. – It’s difficult to imagine a better year inside the ropes for the LPGA than what’s transpired so far in 2024. Nelly Korda’s remarkable seven wins combined with Lydia Ko’s self-described fairy-tale season – that put her into the LPGA Hall of Fame – provided the ultimate one-two punch for generating interest.
And yet, many observers in and around the game question whether or not the LPGA has been able to capitalize on the moment, especially given what’s going on in the greater landscape of women’s sports.
Is LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan delivering enough wins for the tour?
Terry Duffy, one of the biggest supporters of the women’s game, didn’t hestitate to give her high marks. The CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer recently signed a two-year extension with the tour, taking the partnership for the year-long points race and season-ending event through 2027. After Duffy and Marcoux Samaan hit a rocky patch two years ago at this event, it’s been smooth sailing since, with CME continuing to raise the bar in the women’s game.
As Duffy gets set to hand out an historic $4 million winner’s check at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, he sat down with Golfweek to discuss the state of the tour and Marcoux Samaan’s job performance.
What follows are excerpts from that conversation:
We’re a little over three years into Mollie’s tenure. How would you assess the direction of the tour and how it’s going?
I don’t know how you could not give A++ to where the tour is at today under her leadership. I run markets. I don’t care if you’re running a business at a hardware store or an exchange or professional golf, there’s ebbs and flows to everything in life and everything in business. What you ultimately want to make sure is you understand there’s ebbs and flows but ultimately up and to the right is really good. It’s a progression in business. If you’re worth more today than you were 10 years ago or three years ago, you’re doing the right things. ….
When I look at Mollie Marcoux Samaan, I think, and listen nobody pays me to say s***, you need to put that in there, I say what I want. And I look at my company and where we’re at, this is Friday afternoon. I assure you that three years ago, Friday afternoon, this was not like this, an eighth of the people were here. This was a Sunday [crowd] three years ago. That’s progress for me. …
I signed that deal because of Mollie Marcoux Samaan. I’m going to be dead-ass honest with you, that was a big part of it. I love the trajectory of the tour. I love the way the pace has been going. If I would’ve saw a more radical pattern the last few years, I would say ‘Eh, not so sure I like what I see’, but I haven’t seen that. I’ve seen growth. … I think she’s a wonderful person with a nice family and I hope that she’s at the helm for many more years here. I think it not only encourages me, but other sponsors to continue on with our opportunity. …
LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan speaks to the media prior to the CME Group Tour Championship 2024 at Tiburon Golf Club. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
I read that one article about did [the LPGA] take enough advantage of what’s going on. OK, let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about ladies basketball, what an explosive event. Where was ladies basketball three years ago? Two years ago? Nowhere to be found.
The last tournament of [Caitlin’s] last year was the biggest event. The year before that it was not. It was only the last year. Why was that? It was because of other participants that were also rivals all of a sudden, right? It wasn’t because Caitlin was gunning 3s from everywhere on the court, which is exciting in and of itself. But she had rivals in the sport and that made it exciting for people. …
We all want to say why isn’t Nelly Korda bringing more to the tour? OK, she’s not Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods is not Nelly Korda. They’re different. I think Tiger literally did more for the tour than any single person, no disrespect to Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer. I think those three people did more for golf than anybody on the planet, including women’s golf. … Tiger is a huge fan of the LPGA and he’s done a lot for them, but they don’t talk about that. They’re talking about Caitlin Clark … I’ve been dealing with the media a lot, I think that’s unfair. And then we hang that on the leader.
I’m OK with that because I’ve been through that my whole career. You get slapped around forever and then, as you all of a sudden turn around, you’ve created $80 billion of value in the company and finally somebody will say, I guess he was doing an OK job. I’m telling you, through the whole process, it’s a shit show.
My point is, with Mollie, I’ve talked to her over the last several weeks about what we’re doing, and I’ve told her how much I appreciate her leadership, her dedication to it.
Caitlin Clark and Nelly Korda at the pro-am prior ahead of The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican 2024 at Pelican Golf Club. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
What specifically is it about her leadership that you appreciate?
Nothing in particular. I like the trajectory. You know what people hate most in business? It’s uncertainly. You know what breeds uncertainty? Erratic behavior, whether it’s regulatory behavior, or it’s other behavior, people like to have a path that they can understand where they can invest in.
They don’t want to have a path where it’s going to be great today and horrible tomorrow.
What is your understanding of Mollie’s long-term vision?
I think her long-term vision is to continue on a path to build this tour to continue to go forward, with the understanding that some things are in your control and some things aren’t, and you’ve got to work through it. And that’s no different than any other CEO. That’s why I like the way her attitude is and she’s under a tremendous amount of pressure and I know this, because I used to run a member-owned organization. She runs a member-owned organization. CME, before I took it public, was owned by its members. It’s hard to have a couple thousand bosses. She only has a couple hundred, I had a couple thousand, so I understand what she’s going through.
LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan presents the Rolex Player of the Year trophy to Lydia Ko after she won the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
So, in your mind, the ultimate litmus test is as long as purses are going up on the LPGA, that’s the ultimate report card?
No, not for me. The report card for me is young women having a path forward to the LPGA, whether they go on tour or not is irrelevant. If it makes them better people in life, there’s more to it than just being a tour player as a young girl that’s growing up in a very difficult world and giving them structure and a place to have structure so that they can be a more well-rounded person, be a better person in life. That’s what’s important to me. Not the purse on the LPGA. So that’s how I look at it, that’s how I judge it. I look at it in the bigger picture. Are people benefitting from the game and is the ladies game benefitting young people to make them better people for the future, whether they play golf or not? To me, that’s success.
There is a big “green carpet” gala to preview the event and then during the show, there will be three season-long awards handed out:
Rolex Player of the Year
Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year
Rolex ANNIKA Major Award
You can also watch a stream of the green carpet that preceded the awards show below. Lexi Thompson was stopped and asked what she’ll miss about not playing on the LPGA next season.
“Nights like this, I’ll definitely miss,” Thompson said. “A lot.”
Rarely is the LPGA at the forefront of anything, including the current surge in women’s sports.
BELLEAIR, Fla. – In October 2021, Caitlin Clark sent a direct message to the LPGA’s Twitter account asking for one of its cotton-candy logoed hoodies designed by Michelle Wie West.
“Think you could hook me up w the best sweatshirt ever made?!!!” Clark asked. “Huge fan.”
Tour officials didn’t actually see the message until Clark made her debut in an LPGA pro-am, and they scrambled to present her with the hoodie Wednesday morning on the first tee at Pelican Golf Club.
In creating the WNBA-like hoodie, which raised awareness for the tour and money for charity, Wie West said “We’re often hidden; we’re often left out; we’re often not covered.”
That it took three years for the tour to even notice Clark’s request is a terribly on-brand whiff.
Rarely is the LPGA at the forefront of anything, including the current surge in women’s sports.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCU2BVrRHGu/
Yes, purses on the LPGA are at an all-time high. Major championship prize funds alone have more than doubled since 2021 to nearly $48 million. Total prize money in 2024 topped $125 million, up more than 80 percent since 2021.
It might be tempting to underline those numbers and deem LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan’s tenure thus far a success. The sport, after all, seems to center around money these days.
Except that’s not the whole story. Far from it, in fact.
Coming off the dreadfully public transportation disaster at the Solheim Cup, which quickly escalated into a crisis-management catastrophe, it’s appropriate on the eve of the LPGA’s season-ender to dig a little deeper and attempt to answer a simple question: After more than three years at the helm, how is she doing?
First, it was always going to be hard to replace Mike Whan, a master communicator. The current USGA CEO, Whan announced his decision to step down as LPGA commissioner in January 2021 after a successful 11-year stint. Hired in May 2021 as the tour’s ninth commissioner, Marcoux Samaan didn’t actually get to work in her new role until August, and the first thing on her 100-day agenda was to listen and learn.
The former Princeton athletic director got off to a painfully slow start.
Failure to breakthrough to the mainstream
At the 2023 CME Group Tour Championship, Marcoux Samaan called this a period of transformational growth for women’s golf. And yet, there’s little evidence that the LPGA has broken through into the mainstream at a time when female athletes are experiencing an unprecedented amount of exposure.
Even when World No. 1 Nelly Korda got off to an historic start to the 2024 season, her fame didn’t exactly explode. Domestically, the tour still lacks a bona fide household name.
There are bright spots, to be sure. Such as next week’s $4 million winner’s check, the largest prize in women’s sports history. Marcoux Samaan and CME Group Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy endured a rocky time two years ago when a long list of LPGA players no-showed an important dinner. An embarrassed Duffy blamed leadership, telling Golfweek he was “exceptionally disappointed.”
One year later, however, Duffy signed a contract extension and poured more money into the season-ending event. Duffy and the tour worked it out, but the black eye said much about Marcoux Samaan’s ability to relate to the game’s power players.
Players appreciate the focus on missed-cut money, free hotels and an increased health insurance stipend. But there’s a common refrain among many in and around the tour that they can’t articulate Marcoux Samaan’s overall vision. And when it comes to big-picture issues – such as the tour’s Gender Policy or its dealings with Golf Saudi and the potential of an LET merger – the tour lacks transparency and is slow to act.
Annika Sorenstam talks with Mollie Marcoux Samaan, commissioner of the LPGA, during a pro-am ahead of the 2024 The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican in Belleair, Florida. (Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
When there weren’t enough buses on Friday morning to transport fans at the Solheim Cup, resulting in wait times of more than two hours, the tour’s communication with the public and media was virtually non-existent for most of the day. It wasn’t until late Friday evening that the tour publicly addressed the issue with a plan (that was quickly deleted and replaced with a scaled-down statement). The commissioner didn’t take questions until the following morning.
What started out as a bus shortage turned into a crisis of leadership.
Promise of growth not being achieved
It’s not that the LPGA is struggling to stay afloat – which has been the case in the past – it’s that the tour’s not experiencing the transformational growth Marcoux Samaan preached.
The departure of Cognizant, a Fortune 100 company that was bullish on the LPGA from the start – signaled a red flag. The hope was that Cognizant’s leadership would sing the LPGA’s praises to other blue-chip companies and lead to organic growth.
Instead, they’re out after title-sponsoring four editions of the event, leaving the tour scrambling to back its own Founders Cup as the LPGA celebrates 75 years.
In addition, stops that have been on tour for decades in Portland and Toledo have been on life support now for several seasons. For reference, the inaugural Portland Ladies Classic dates back to 1972. The Toledo stop began in 1984.
As the LPGA looks to add to the number of events it owns and operates, it has become increasingly clear that the tour lacks the resources needed to make what it currently runs – such as the Solheim Cup and Founders Cup – a success. The tour has invested heavily in boosting its staff in recent years.
A demanding job that requires strong relationships
There’s no question that leading the LPGA is one of the most difficult and demanding jobs in sports. There’s no time to relax. It’s a constant turnover of sponsors, staff and talent. Just as one win goes up on the board, a fire breaks out somewhere else.
It takes help to be successful at this job, which requires strong relationships. And that’s probably where Marcoux Samaan, whose contract expires in the summer of 2026, currently struggles the most. She hasn’t won over enough key people in the event business, the player body, the press or inside her own headquarters. There’s a profound lack of confidence and inspiration among those in her charge.
Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, was buzzing early Wednesday morning as world No. 1 Nelly Korda and WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark warmed up for their nine-hole pro-am at The Annika, one of the biggest non-major events on the LPGA schedule.
It’s not often you get two of the biggest stars in women’s sports together, and fans took advantage of the opportunity. They came out in droves to watch Korda and Clark, with tournament host and women’s golf GOAT Annika Sorenstam and LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan making an appearance on the first tee.
After Korda and Clark finish the front nine, the No. 1 pick from the 2024 WNBA draft will play the back with Sorenstam.
Here are must-see photos from an incredible morning at Pelican Golf Club.
The letter, which was obtained by Golfweek, states that “it is essential for the integrity and fairness of women’s golf to have a clear and consistent participation policy in place based on a player’s immutable sex.”
Signed by current and former female professionals, the letter was sent just before the start of the first stage of LPGA Qualifying in California last August. Just three days prior, the tour sent out a memo of its own to LPGA and Epson Tour players regarding its Gender Policy.
Golfweek confirmed that in the memo, LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan stated that the tour planned to conclude a lengthy review of its current policy by year’s end and would implement any updates to the policy before the 2025 season.
The commissioner stated that the tour’s top priority must be to have a policy that provides for fair competition and considers “first and foremost” competitive advantage.
Meanwhile, as the tour continues its review, Davidson marches on.
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson. Photo by Hailey Davidson
On Tuesday in Venice, Florida, she opened what was formally known as Stage II of LPGA Qualifying with a 6-over 78. If Davidson completes all four rounds of this week’s event at Plantation Golf and Country Club, where there is no cut, she will earn Epson Tour status for the 2025 season. If Davidson finishes in the top 35 and ties among the field of 195, she’ll move on to Final Qualifying for a chance to earn an LPGA card for next season.
In 2010, the LPGA voted to eliminate its requirement that players be “female at birth” not long after a transgender woman filed a lawsuit against the tour.
Recently retired LPGA player Amy Olson believes the tour should return to requiring that athletes be female at birth.
“I would say I’m cautiously optimistic that the LPGA will do the right thing,” Olson told Golfweek. “That they will update their policy to reflect a fair competitive environment for women and also continued opportunity for women.
“I am optimistic. The LPGA has fought so hard for women golfers for over 70 years – our mission has always been consistent.”
While the threat of another lawsuit undoubtedly plays a large role in decision-making, Olson has noted that the threat works both ways. Should a transgender woman earn an LPGA card and replace a biological female, the threat of a lawsuit against the tour could be just as strong.
“I so strongly believe that if the LPGA does the right thing,” said Olson, “they will have an immense amount of support.”
The letter sent by the Independent Women’s Forum lays out a number of differences between biological males and females that impact golf, noting that, “The male advantage in driving the ball is estimated around a 30 percent performance advantage; this is an enormous difference in the context of sport. Anatomical differences between males and females affect clubhead speed and regulating consistency at ball contact. Females have higher mean heart rates and encounter greater physiological demands while playing, especially at high altitudes. The anatomical differences are not removed with male testosterone suppression. There is no way to turn a male into a female. Being a female is not equated to being male with a reduction in strength.”
On Sept. 24, 2015 – a date that’s tattooed on her right forearm – Davidson began undergoing hormone treatments and in January 2021, underwent gender reassignment surgery, a six-hour procedure that’s required under the LPGA’s Gender Policy.
LPGA veteran Sarah Kemp knows Davidson personally and sees no reason for the tour to change its policy.
“I can’t imagine having to deal with the amount of hate she does on an everyday basis. It’s cruel and shameful,” Kemp told Golfweek in an email exchange earlier this year. “Hailey just wants to compete, and she works her tail off to get better. But even as hard as she works, she hasn’t been able to break through in women’s professional golf. I still can’t believe the worldwide uproar over her winning an NXXT event. … I know two transgender golfers – both of whom have had the procedure, including Hailey – and what that surgery did to their bodies physically was substantially more severe than hormone treatments alone. I believe this will be a major consideration in the research that’s just beginning on transgender athletes in elite sport.”
Earlier this year, Davidson came within one spot of qualifying for the 79th U.S. Women’s Open, the biggest championship in women’s golf.
Davidson had primarily competed on NXXT Golf until the Florida-based mini tour announced in March – on International Women’s Day – that competitors must be a biological female at birth to participate.
A three-time winner on the tour, Davidson ranked second on the mini tour’s season standings at the time of the ban. She had played nine times this season on the NXXT.
(Editor’s note: Although Golfweek obtained the letter from the Independent Women’s Forum, the list of signed names was not attached.)
“Why wouldn’t you want the best talent in college on the LPGA Tour?”
LAKE ELMO, Minn. — Alicia Um Holmes is unsure what her roster is going to look like come springtime.
The women’s golf coach at UCLA had a runner-up finish at the 2024 NCAA Championship, and the Bruins returned four of their five players in the lineup from the championship match against Stanford. They also added one of the top female amateurs in the country, giving Um Holmes depth and experience to make another title push come spring.
She also may not have her best player, and one of the best in the country, past the fall season.
It’s an uncomfortable wait, but what other choice does Um Holmes have?
LPGA Q-Series is an event numerous college players compete in each fall, and plenty are left with a difficult choice if they advance to the final stage. LPGA rules stipulate that players must turn professional before the final stage begins in December, which means giving up the last few months of their amateur careers to chase status on the best professional tour for women in the world. Those who don’t earn an LPGA card will have Epson Tour status.
It’s a guaranteed landing spot, whereas staying in college doesn’t provide any direct avenues to the professional game.
Zoe Campos and Caroline Canales, seniors at UCLA, have advanced to second stage of LPGA Q-Series. With a win or top finish there, they would advance to final qualifying and also receive some status on the Epson Tour.
While Canales said she would come back to school and finish her final year, Campos told Um Holmes she would strongly consider turning professional. And how could a player like Campos, ranked fourth in the world, pass up that opportunity?
Men’s, women’s access to pro ranks
When you compare the men’s amateur game to the women’s, there are more opportunities for men to get to the professional ranks compared to the women. While the men’s game is deeper, the women’s game has grown, and the top amateurs each year are capable of making their mark on the biggest tours right away. They just don’t have the same access as the men, especially for collegiate players.
By all means, PGA Tour University has been a success. So, why isn’t there a similar program for the top women’s collegiate players?
“A lot of us coaches have certainly asked the question over the last few years,” said Oregon coach Derek Radley, who last year lost Briana Chacon when she turned pro after qualifying for final stage. “It has created an amazing dynamic on the men’s side, and why wouldn’t you want the best talent in college on the LPGA Tour?”
PGA Tour University gives the top-ranking senior each spring a PGA Tour card, and Nos. 2-25 in the rankings get some sort of status and guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas.
Last spring, Ludvig Aberg was playing college golf at Texas Tech. He finished first in PGA Tour U and became the first player to earn a PGA Tour card directly from college.
Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg earned his PGA Tour card on Monday. (Photo: Texas Tech Athletics)
Now, he’s ranked fifth in the world.
At the same time, Rose Zhang is arguably best female amateur of all-time. Her first professional start came thanks to a sponsor exemption at the Mizuho Americas Open.
Thirteen days after winning her second straight NCAA title, she won her professional debut. Thanks to that, she had immediate LPGA status and is now a top-10 player in the world coming off a historic week at the Solheim Cup.
Imagine if Zhang didn’t win that week? Sure, she had numerous sponsor exemptions lined up thanks to her prowess as an amateur, but she had no guaranteed status anywhere. If she would’ve struggled, one of the best young Americans in the history of the game could’ve been scrapping it out to get to the LPGA.
Instead, she has become one of the most popular female golfers in the world and is now a two-time tour winner. And it happened because she had an opportunity.
“We play great venues, great schedules, so you’re going to get players that have proven themselves,” Wake Forest coach Kim Lewellen said.
Last year, Ingrid Lindblad won the ANNIKA Award as the Player of the Year in women’s college golf. The fifth-year senior at LSU had one of the more impressive college careers and had an opportunity to turn pro at the end of last fall.
But after winning the second stage of LPGA Q-Series in October, Lindblad opted not to move on to the final stage so that she could compete in one last Augusta National Women’s Amateur and NCAA Championship. The Swede accepted her full Epson Tour status and returned to school, leading the Tigers into match play at the NCAAs for the first time in school history.
Last weekend, she picked up her first professional win on the Epson Tour and is well on her way to earning an LPGA card, but it didn’t have to be this hard.
Ingrid Lindblad won the Epson Tour’s Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic. (Photo: Epson Tour)
“We need to do it. It’s imperative we get this out here,” said South Carolina coach Kalen Anderson, who is on the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee, about providing a more direct path to the LPGA from college golf. “It’s going to keep some of the greatest players in school. We need to start somewhere and go.
“I got on the NCAA committee for a few reasons, and that’s one of them. I’m on a four-year term, and that’s one of my goals.”
While there have been some cons to PGA Tour U, the benefits far outweigh any negatives.
The same applies for the women’s game. As Anderson alluded to, it would keep the top players in school longer, which is better for the sport in general, coaches and fans. Providing a direct access to the LPGA through college golf would lead to players staying in school longer as they battle for professional status without going to qualifying school.
The year-round race would put a spotlight on both up-and-coming players and the tour.
“I think we’re going to start seeing that soon,” Central Florida coach Emily Marron said. “It’s been a good thing on the men’s side. I think that gives these girls something to shoot for, and it helps us recruiting process and say, ‘Hey, you come here, and this is a way to get to the LPGA Tour.'”
Why hasn’t the LPGA changed how the top college players each year get access to its tour?
There are a few reasons.
First, as mentioned earlier, the professional women’s game is not as deep as the men’s side, so there are theoretically less spots up for grabs each year. The more status the LPGA gives to top college players, even if it’s conditional LPGA or full status on the Epson Tour, it takes away spots from a current member, and that’s something the membership likely doesn’t want.
Additionally, there’s no outside pressure from a faction like LIV Golf on the men’s side to sign the top players right out of college, meaning the LPGA and Epson Tour are the only options in the United States for college players to play after graduation. Why make it easier for golfers to get there if there’s no worry they’re going to go anywhere else?
When comparing the PGA Tour and LPGA, 13 of the top 50 players in the current FedEx Cup standings did not go to college in the United States. On the LPGA and the Race to CME Globe standings, that number is 29 of the top 50 who did not go to college, another reason the LPGA may be against having a direct pipeline from college.
Zoe Campos watches her tee shot at the third hole during singles matches of the 2024 Curtis Cup at Sunningdale Golf Club in Sunningdale, England on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Chris Keane/USGA)
The LPGA did not respond to Golfweek‘s request for comments on the possibility of an LPGA Tour U and whether a program like that is in the works.
However, in 2022, LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said this at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship: “You have to always look at the pipelines. You have to look at the pipelines from the Epson Tour. You have to look at who is coming out of various parts of the world, and I think you can’t forget about what’s coming out of the college game.
“So nothing is changing immediately. But as with everything, we evaluate that and we’ve got a team that is looking at who are the best players in the world and how do they get on to the LPGA? I think those pathways are really critical, so there’s nothing new brewing right now from the college game.”
Two years have passed, and it seems the question is even greater now than it was then about more pipelines for the top college players.
Coaches want it. College players would welcome it. It would be a boost for women’s college golf.
But at the end of the day, it’s up the LPGA to decide whether it wants to make the direct path to its tour easier for the top college players. Especially with the talent in today’s college game, it seems like a missed opportunity for players like Campos, Julia Lopez Ramirez at Mississippi State and numerous others to not have a chance to play right away on the LPGA.
“It’s an upward battle, but why don’t these women deserve it?” asked Anderson. “It’s time. We’re at that point in women’s sports where they need to do it.”
“At the end of the day, I’m the leader of the organization and I have to own it.”
GAINESVILLE, Va. – LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan met with the media on Saturday morning and owned the transportation disaster that took place on opening day of the 19th Solheim Cup. Fans were stuck in the Jiffy Lube Live parking lot for hours on Friday, missing the first-tee experience and most of the morning foursomes session at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
“I don’t want to get into exactly who, the details of the responsibility,” she said when asked who was in charge. “At the end of the day, I’m the leader of the organization and I have to own it. We have a tournament team that runs all of this, but I’m sitting up here in front of you as the leader of the LPGA, and I need to own that.”
When pressed for specifics on how many buses were in circulation on Friday morning and how many were added for later in the day and Saturday, Marcoux Samaan said that was a “complicated question.”
“We were writing spreadsheets and trying to figure it all out,” she said. “We didn’t have enough buses in the morning, clearly. When we started the day — the staggering was to sort of have three, four times more during the course of the day, but they were scheduled to start later and then there were some delays.
“The exact numbers, I can’t tell you at every hour what we had, but let’s just suffice it to say there were not enough.”
Fans who went on Friday were told by volunteers that only seven buses were running on Friday morning. The LPGA put out a statement late Friday night that said four times the number of buses had been added for Saturday morning, though that post was later deleted from “X.”
In addition to not having enough buses, Marcoux Samaan said they didn’t have enough staff in place to load the buses and communicate with fans, and that the staging area wasn’t sufficient or efficient.
Around 8 p.m. ET, fans received an email from Marcoux Samaan that offered an apology and two free tickets for the weekend. Many had asked for a refund. Competition round tickets were $110 plus an extra $30 for parking.
“We spent time yesterday trying to figure out logistically what was possible, and it’s challenging to figure out who was affected, who wasn’t affected, how we could handle it logistically from all parts of the organization, and .. that was the best way we could find just to acknowledge that the morning was not what we expected, what we wanted, what we believe in, what we value, and if they’d like to come back again, we’d welcome them back,” she said.
Fans who came on Saturday morning zipped through the parking lot and boarded the shuttles with ease thanks to a significant increase in buses. With RTJ hosting a number of high-profile men’s events, including the four Presidents Cups on U.S. soil, Marcoux Samaan admitted this was an LPGA problem and nothing more.
For many fans, Marcoux Samaan’s words might be too little too late.
“I think the fans when they got here, they had a great time,” said Marcoux Samaan. “Yes, it was disappointing. We’re not happy with what happened. I don’t think it’s going to be long-term damages to us. We have to make sure our fans know how much we care about them and how much we whiffed.”
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