LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler cut 12,000 miles off the 2027 tournament travel schedule. It’s not as headline-grabbing as big money, but when it comes to the longevity of his stars, it’s critical.
A commissioner’s success is largely graded on the quality of the tour’s schedule. Since Kessler took over, he’s been hyper-focused on three main areas: routing, courses and purses.
Given the way tournament contracts and course availabilities are staggered throughout the season, it’s impossible to overhaul an LPGA schedule overnight. But, as the tour released its 2027 schedule on Wednesday, there’s no question that in the span of 15 months, Kessler has made substantial progress.
The tour’s new upgraded Hawaii swing, for example, hits all the right notes,
serving as a bridge between the spring Asia swing and held on elevated courses in Nanea and Kapalua. They’ll offer terrific primetime viewing following “Live From” at the Players and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Tour officials note when LPGA coverage immediately follows PGA Tour coverage on Golf Channel, there’s a substantial ratings hike.
Four tournaments from 2026 are now gone from the schedule: Kroger Queen City Championship, Aramco Championship, ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open and the Blue Bay LPGA in Hawaii. All four have been replaced by events with upgraded purses or venues or both. The venue for the "The Championship" (previously the PIF London Championship) has yet to be announced.
Ricki Laski, the LPGA’s chief tour business and operations officer, said Kessler’s experience with the PGA of America and his vast network have helped “tremendously” when it comes to enhanced venues.
“Our schedule impacts every stakeholder, but our athletes remain at the heart of how we build it,” said Kessler in a statement. “Our progress is evident in how our athletes and the entire LPGA ecosystem will move around the world next year, creating more opportunities to rest, recover and ultimately operate more efficiently.”
The 2027 schedule features 33 events (including three unofficial) and a total prize fund of more than $147 million. Notably, the purses of non-majors have increased nearly $12 million since this time last year.
The reborn Corning event, now simply known as “The Classic," leads the way with the largest non-major purse of $5 million. The JM Eagle LA Championship and FM Championship are next at $4.75 million and $4.7 million, respectively. A total of 10 events will have missed-cut money and 20 will offer a paid travel expense such as free hotel, car or flight.
The 2027 season will kick off one week later next year in Orlando, Florida, with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Then, after a couple weeks off, the first Asia swing begins with four events overseas, before returning to Hawaii. Worth noting that the JM Eagle LA Championship will return to historic Wilshire Country Club after an extensive renovation and restoration project.
Of course, there’s still work to do with the tour’s biggest events. The summer majors are once again crammed together with three in the span of six weeks and four in the span of nine weeks.
The Chevron Championship returns to Memorial Park for a second time, where there will be a permanent pond in place on the 18th. The U.S. Women’s Open heads to the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, for the first time, while the KPMG Women’s PGA returns to Congressional. After the Amundi Evian in France, the AIG Women’s British Open will debut at a familiar Open rota course: Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England.
Here's the rendering of what the 18th at Memorial Park will look like in 2027 after Tom Doak redesigns the finishing hole.
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) April 20, 2026
I'd still like to see a contained pool feature for the jump area, similar to what was at Mission Hills. Players should jump in clear water!
(Photo… pic.twitter.com/YKbnf1Y17U
While it's not a Solheim Cup year, the Hanwha Plus International Crown will make its debut at Lake Merced near San Francisco Sept. 9-12. The course, which hosted the LPGA from 2014 to 2021, recently underwent an extensive renovation.
In other team golf news, with the Lotte moving to the spring, the Dow Championship was slotted in its place ahead of the fall Asian swing.
Looking ahead, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will throw a fun but clunky wrench in the summer schedule. Laski said the tour is “really looking to optimize by 2029.”
2027 LPGA Schedule
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LPGA releases 2027 schedule, which cuts down 12,000 travel miles
