Nearing first-year anniversary, LPGA commissioner has impressed his players and sponsors, with much work still to do

One of the tour’s bright young stars, rookie Natasha Oon, has met and interacted with Kessler a few times. She was surprised when he told her he watched her entire press conference—the first one that went viral while talking about her sesamoid fracture. She is fun, energetic and exactly what the tour is looking for when they market stars. (Oon certainly helped her own visibility by opening with a xxx in L.A.)

“This guy could run for president and I wouldn’t be surprised,” Oon said. “The way he talks and holds himself, it’s kind of cool to see. I think he's doing great things for the tour, and every time he sees me, it's always been a really cool time because he greets you, and he hypes you up. He’s such a supportive presence.

“He’s got so much to do, but he always finds time to say hi and makes you feel like you're a star. And everyone's a star. He’s doing so many changes, but it's good changes, and there’s good intentions behind it.”

The broadcast enhancements debuted at the Ford Championship in March. During that tournament, Lydia Ko was tearing up Whirlwind Golf Club and had a chance to shoot 59, but most fans didn’t know it until after her round because the LPGA team was slow to get the word out on social media. It was a clear missed opportunity.

Maybe a lesson was learned. On Thursday, Chizzy Iwai lit up El Caballero Country Club by shooting seven under over seven holes while scoring 29 on the front nine. The LPGA panels posted plenty as Iwai eventually tied the course record with a 63.

Kessler, who was the COO at TopGolf, learned valuable advice from former CEO Ken May about always being “in the field.” He said it’s a reminder of why he does what he does, whether he’s playing in the pro-am or working the driving range. He was there with Walter Wang (the chairman and CEO of JM Eagle) and Shirley Wang (CEO of Plastrpo) for the poplar VIP party in L.A. on Wednesday. It’s no secret that it’s one of the best-attended parties on tour and there was $75,000 in gifts and prizes.

Kessler told golfer Aditi Ashok that she had to tell a dad joke to get a gift card. She used this one: “How does a crab get to and from school each day?

“A sidewalk.”

Kessler loved it. “She killed it,” he said.

With the LPGA hosting its first major of the year at a new venue next week, there’s no doubt the tour would love to make a splash. Seven tournaments have been played so far, and the winners have been most high-profile, including World Nos. 1 and 2 Jeeno Thitikul and Nelly Korda. The LPGA had a 2025 that featured parity, but no one dominated, with 26 players being winners in the first 25 events. There is already a repeat champion this year—World No. 3 Hyo Joo Kim.

“I think the biggest opportunity and the biggest challenge in front of us right now is prioritization,” Kessler said. “There's so much to do. There are so many people who have raised their hands to get involved in support, and we are one of the most leanly staffed organizations I've ever been a part of, and making sure the team stays laser focused, is a very important part of the job.”