Stacy Lewis might have the resume to someday become commissioner of the LPGA.
There’s just one problem: Her daughter isn’t interested.
During Lewis’ induction into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame at San Antonio Country Club, the conversation turned to what might come next for the two-time major champion and former world No. 1. Specifically, could commissioner be in her future?
Lewis’ oldest daughter, Chesnee, was sitting in the front row when she was asked whether Mom should someday run the LPGA.
Her answer?
“No.”
Lewis laughed. Chesnee, now 8, wants her mom at home, not working out of LPGA headquarters.
Craig Kessler’s job, apparently, is safe.
“For now,” Lewis joked.
It was one of the lighter moments during an evening honoring everything Lewis has already
accomplished. But the commissioner question wasn’t entirely in jest.
Lewis, who retired from full-time competition in 2025, has long been one of the LPGA’s most engaged players when it comes to the business of the tour. And now, with more time on her hands, the Texas Golf Hall of Famer isn’t ruling out becoming even more involved.
“Towards the end of my career, I really took a liking to kind of the business of the tour and what was going on behind the scenes,” Lewis said. “I enjoyed helping make changes and helping get the tour going in better directions and different directions.
“So, yeah, I mean, maybe one day in the future. I want to continue to give back to this game and see the LPGA Tour on TV every single week live, where everybody can see these women, how cool they are.”
If that sounds a little like a future commissioner talking, Lewis has the track record to back it up.
At one point, six of her personal sponsors became LPGA title sponsors. In 2011, a Marathon Petroleum executive asked Lewis why the company should sponsor an LPGA tournament. Two years later, Marathon was the title sponsor of the tour’s longtime stop in Toledo.
Her relationship with KPMG proved even more influential. KPMG’s involvement helped transform the Women’s PGA Championship, and when Lewis became pregnant, the company continued paying her full contract regardless of how much she played. The decision helped establish a new standard for how female professional athletes could be treated during maternity leave.
Then came her two turns as U.S. Solheim Cup captain. Lewis pushed for greater use of data and analytics while examining everything from team budgets to the role of former captains. The Americans tied Europe in Spain in 2023 before winning back the Cup in Virginia in 2024.
That approach helps explain why Lewis has accumulated influence that extends well beyond her 13 LPGA victories, two major championships, two Rolex Player of the Year awards and two Vare Trophies.
Now she can add being a Texas Golf Hall of Famer to the list.
For Lewis, who grew up in The Woodlands outside Houston, sharing that distinction with some of the state’s greatest players was almost uncomfortable.
“I don’t think I should be in the same Hall of Fame as them,” Lewis said.
She remembered growing up around Carol Mann at The Woodlands Country Club and being “terrified” of her before eventually getting to know legends such as Mann and Judy Rankin on a personal level.
“You look up to them and their records and what they did,” Lewis said. “As I got older, I got to spend some time with them and talk to them and get to know them. ... Getting to know them outside of the game of golf has been probably one of the most special things for me.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever done enough to deserve all the things that they’re in. But I’ll say I’ve done something pretty good if I’m up here on the stage.”
Lewis’ path there wasn't obvious.
She readily points out that she wasn’t even the best player on her high school team. Texas A&M was one of the few schools in the state that recruited her, but Lewis wanted to get away from home and chose Arkansas.
Life eventually brought her back. Lewis now lives in College Station, where her husband, Gerrod Chadwell, is the Texas A&M women’s golf coach.
“So now, I guess I’m kind of an Aggie,” Lewis joked. “But if Arkansas and A&M are playing, it’s Arkansas.”
Lewis credits growing up in Texas with helping mold the game that eventually took her to No. 1 in the world.
She learned to play in the wind, deal with imperfect conditions and manufacture shots from funky lies. Those skills traveled. Lewis won in Japan and Singapore, played well in Australia and won the 2013 Women’s British Open at St. Andrews, which remains her favorite place in the world to play.
The toughness came from elsewhere, too. Diagnosed with scoliosis at 11, Lewis spent years wearing a back brace before undergoing major surgery at 18. She eventually emerged as one of the best players of her generation.
Now comes the question of what Lewis does next. The Texas Golf Hall of Fame recognizes what she has already done. But Lewis has spent much of her career thinking about where the LPGA should go next, cultivating sponsors, advocating for players and looking for ways to improve the tour.
She understands the players because she was one. She understands sponsors because she's helped turn them into LPGA partners. She's worked alongside tour leadership, commanded a Solheim Cup team and shown a willingness to challenge the way things have always been done.
All of which makes commissioner an intriguing possibility someday.
Just don't expect Chesnee's endorsement.
Tim Schmitt is the managing editor of Golfweek and the golf coordinator of the USA Today Network. Beth Ann Nichols contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Stacy Lewis for LPGA commissioner? Not if her daughter gets a vote
