The big question of the 2025 LPGA is already being answered in 2026

Craig Kessler knew there was no easy answereven if conventional wisdom says otherwise.

“There are no silver bullets for star-making,” the LPGA commissioner said at the CME Group Tour Championship in November.

At the end of a year defined by parity, the LPGA and women’s golf faced a conundrum as it sought to find its breakthrough moment: Is it better to have one or two superstars win and win big, or are parity and depth the answer?

One of Kessler’s top priorities when he took over as commissioner was finding a way to create and market his stars. The way, he said, was to identify those who connect with fans, are willing to step outside the ropes to build their brand, and whose game meets the necessary level.

“You’ve got the best players, you’ve got the most marketable players and you’ve got the ones that are actually willing to lean in and do the work,” Kessler said. “It’s a handful of players at the center of that Venn diagram where we’re going to invest our resources in order to create global superstars and create that player-fan connection.”

Of course, it’s no secret who the pins are in women’s golf right now. It’s the same two players Kessler specifically mentioned by name as players who have done things outside of golf to raise their star profiles: Nelly Korda and Charley Hull.

While things off the ropes are important, Korda and Hull win more, and doing so on the biggest stages in 2026 would be the most beneficial thing for the LPGA and women’s golf.

Repeat went winless in 2025 after her seven wins in 2024. Hull won once, catching Kroger after world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul four-putted on the 72nd hole. Not surprisingly, the two biggest moments of the 2025 season were Korda’s charge on Sunday at the US Women’s Open and Hull’s last-round storming of the AIG Women’s Open, both of which came up short.

A year in which Nelly and Charley win, and win big, would be the foundation for the climb to a breakthrough that Kessler and all stakeholders in women’s golf envision.

That’s what made the LPGA’s controversial start to the season so stubborn. Korda hit 64 pounds Saturday in frigid temperatures in Orlando to take the lead. Everything was set for an ideal Sunday, with the LPGA star looking to snap a winless drought to open the 2026 season. But the decision to shorten the tournament to 54 holes due to cold conditions meant Korda won the tournament on the range and will not strike again for a month.

Kessler apologized for the way the decision was handled and communicated. He vowed to learn from him. There’s no question that the controversial cut overshadowed what could have been the ideal scenario for the LPGA’s opening weekend.

But Korda still won. When she does it again, talk of a drought will be over and she’ll be looking at victory no. 2 of the season.

“I did really well last year,” Korda said after her 54-hole victory. “It just wasn’t going my way. I think I was so focused on being really present, which I told myself to do last year as well. Maybe the outside noise got in the way a little more than I wanted. I learned a lot.

“Just really happy to get my first win of the year, and hopefully it leads to a great year.”

And on Saturday, women’s golf’s other needle mover fired a final-round 65 to come back and win the PIF Saudi Ladies International on the Ladies’ European Tour.

Hull birdied six of the final eight holes at Riyadh Golf Club to beat Akie Iwai and Cassandra Alexander by one.

“It feels good,” Hull said after securing the win. “Wow, today went by a little fast. I was only two-under on nine holes and then I made a charge on the back nine. It was funny because the last time I was here my boyfriend told me to go out and make a lot of birdies to start. He said to me last night, ‘Make a lot of birdies go in, you like to chase. And that’s what I did.'”

The LPGA’s botched decision to cut the Champions Tour short at the start of the season turned Korda’s dream start into a debacle full of questions.

But on February 14, Korda and Hull, the two biggest stars in women’s golf, have both won. Hull will replay it in two weeks at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, while Korda will return to action at the Fortinet Founders Cup in mid-March. There’s a chance that one or both could have multiple wins by the time the first major rolls around in late April.

The answer to the LPGA’s stars vs. depth question was always going to answer itself. Just one month into the 2026 season, Korda and Hull already seem on their way to providing the expected answer: stars move the needle and transcend sports. Wins are the accelerator.

This is as close to a silver bullet as you will find.