LPGA commissioner apologizes for Lake Nona 54-hole disaster

The LPGA Tour started its season with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, last week. It was a 37-player field with celebrity amateurs playing alongside, but they could not finish the tournament. Whipping winds caused a delay on Saturday, and after the third round finished Sunday morning, the tour announced that the tournament was over after 54 holes due to the cold. New LPGA Tour commissioner Craig Kessler apologized after the event, which Nelly Korda won.

“There were clearly other ways we should have managed the situation.”

LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler has sent a memo to players apologizing for how the LPGA managed the situation at Lake Nona on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/b5U46ghQVr

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) February 3, 2026

“I made the decision to limit the event to 54 holes, worried that our athletes might be injured given the way record overnight low temperatures hardened the course,” Kessler wrote in a statement to players, per Golf.com. “While the decision was a tough one and ran counter to prior statements we shared, I made a judgment call. With the benefit of hindsight, there were clearly other ways we should have managed the situation.”

Kessler then gives his steps to improve the Tour and player relationships. “Establishing clearer principles for play decisions in challenging situations, including stregthen weekly contingency planning. Communicating faster, more clearly, and with better real-time information” were the bullet points.”

Kessler was named the LPGA Tour commissioner ahead of the 2026 season after a short tenure from Mollie Marcoux Samaan. Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols called the tenure “tumultuous,” with player-Tour relationships taking a downturn. For this to be Kessler’s first impression is not a great start for the Tour.

The LPGA Tour heads to Asia for a three-event swing starting on February 19. Their next tournament in North America, and the next time Korda will play, is on March 19 in California. They have plenty of time to make everyone forget about this disaster. But the taste in everyone’s mouth is poor after Kessler’s first event in charge.

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