GOYANG-SI, South Korea – When LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler saw a driverless golf cart take off down a path at New Korea Country Club during Tuesday’s pro am, he instinctively took off running, thinking the caddie had forgotten to put on the emergency brake.
“Turns out she had a button, and the whole thing’s automated,” said Kessler. “It’s crazy.”
Kessler’s first trip to South Korea has been eye-opening in a number of ways. The fact that a high-end mall near the host hotel featured an entire floor full of golf clothes and accessories, mostly dedicated to women, is simply unimaginable to the rest of the world.
“It feels like, in all the right ways, golf is actually a lifestyle here,” said Kessler, “as opposed to just a sport.”
Korean TV partners and title sponsorships have been critical to not only the LPGA’s success, but its survival over the past 20 years. The tour opened its South Korea office in 2014 with a team of three. Now there are seven employees in Seoul plus Chris Madsen, the tour’s new head of business development in Asia. Madsen, a former rugby player from the U.K. who is based in Singapore, was previously a sports marketing director for Nike in Southeast Asia and India as well as head of commercial in Asia Pacific for Chelsea Football Club.
Madsen has already traveled to China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia in his new role and comes to Seoul about once every five weeks to meet with his team and potential clients. Finding ways to build relationships and trust without living full-time in Korea will be a new challenge for someone in that role.
Madsen looks at the number of players in the top 100 of the LPGA who are based in Asia or Asian-born and sees a rare opportunity for the LPGA.
“I think that’s totally unique to pretty much any sporting property globally,” he said, “and I think that becomes a superpower for us.”
The International Crown is the brainchild of former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan and was built to celebrate the global appeal of the 75-year-old tour. The inaugural Crown was held in 2014 at Caves Valley Golf Club, and the winner, Spain, didn’t even qualify for the next edition at the Merit Club in suburban Chicago, won by the U.S.
The eight-team biennial event started to gain traction in 2018 when it was held overseas for the first time in South Korea. Sunday at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club seven years ago was a feast for the masses. Even two-time major winner Ariya Jutanguarn couldn’t resist whipping out her phone for a quick video on the first tee.
Typhoon Kong-Rey spoiled the party early week but by the final day, the 200 security guards on hand, at times, didn’t seem ample enough.
Like many things, the Crown’s momentum was wrecked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event returned in 2023 at TPC Harding Park with a new title sponsor, Hanwha Life Plus, but to little fanfare. The fans and media were sparse in San Francisco, where Thailand triumphed.
The hope was that a return to South Korea in 2025 could breathe new life into the one-of-a-kind exhibition.
With dramatic views of Bukhansan mountain and city skyscrapers, the hilly New Korea Country Club is home to Hyo Joo Kim, the eighth-ranked player in the world and one of the most popular golfers in South Korea. The entertaining Kim has a parade of celebrity friends and looked like the Crown’s unofficial mayor all week.
Many of the courses in South Korea are owned by conglomerates, including New Korea, which has four board members who take turns serving as president. Hanwha’s contract as title sponsor runs through 2031 and should the event return to South Korea during that time, it doesn’t necessarily mean the event will come back to New Korea.
The icon of all icons, Seri Pak, was on hand early week to offer a toast at the glitzy gala, where the caviar was topped with flakes of gold and the “Bruno Mars” of South Korea headlined the after-party at the Fairmont Ambassador.
Players were showered with gifts – Tumi luggage, high-end cosmetics and jewelry. Even the caddies stayed at the Fairmont and had their own caddie team room on the seventh floor.
There was considerable effort made this week to make this a can’t-miss event for players. There’s no better advertisement for it, however, than the enthusiasm shown by newcomers Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson, who’d felt left out all those years and represented the inaugural World Team.
“I’ve been so excited for this,” said Henderson after the first day of play. “I’ve been waiting for it for so long.”
Space is unusually tight at New Korea Country Club, and as is custom at South Korean tournaments, much of the tournament buildout for the Crown didn’t start until 10 p.m. on Sunday night the week of the tournament. It’s a sprint to get the venue prepped for action, but that’s nothing new to Executive Tournament Director Jeremy Harvey-Samuel and team. This marked IMG’s first time running operations for the Crown, but the company’s experience in Asia runs deep.
When the BMW Ladies Championship was held in Busan, Harvey-Samuel recalled having to double the picket fence around the putting green after it bowed under the crush of adoring fans.
“I’ve never done an event anywhere in the world that has that kind of energy,” he said.
With a small course footprint, a gutted Korean team bowing out early and the DP World Tour playing several hours away at Woo Jeong Hills, fan support wasn’t as impressive as it could’ve been this week. Even so, the event ran smoothly and there were plenty of upgraded details that made it feel special.
Now the LPGA must find ways to make this event feel big – and relevant – when it returns to the United States in 2027. The format has been tweaked several times, making it easier to follow. And yet, Sunday’s double-round marathon with two different formats (alternate shot and singles) within the same session is a lot to follow – even for a diehard fan.
Before the event started, Angel Yin wondered if a Presidents Cup style format wouldn’t be better. Two teams, 12 Americans versus an International team of 12 that excludes Europe. By week’s end, she still felt that a two-team simplified format would yield more excitement and interest.
When asked if more changes might be coming in 2027, Kessler said, “If we’re not constantly innovating and asking ourselves, what more can we do to entertain our fans, shame on us.”
Kessler kept a packed schedule in Korea. In many ways, his success in Asia will dictate what’s possible everywhere else.
Earlier this year, the LPGA was forced to cancel the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship after JTBC failed to pay its bills. In addition, JTBC also failed to pay for broadcasting all LPGA events in 2024 and 2025. The tour took JTBC to court, but the company continued to broadcast its events throughout the 2025 season, including the Crown.
The LPGA is expected to announce a new South Korean media rights deal in the near future for the 2026 season and beyond.
“I’m feeling really good about what’s coming next,” said Kessler. “I think media rights is the lifeblood of our organization for two reasons 1) economics and 2) it’s the platform we use to tell our athletes’ stories and to show the competition. The good news is not just in Korea, but in Asia more broadly, it seems like there’s increasing demand, not shrinking demand, for women’s golf content.”
Kessler left South Korea and headed next to the Future Investment Initiative (FII9) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before making it home in time for Halloween in Texas with his three sons.
Six months after being named commissioner, the optimism and energy hasn’t waned.
