A Major Dilemma

More major championship golf is on tap this week with the KPMG Women's PGA Championship teeing off on Thursday from Fields Ranch East at Omni PGA Frisco. If you didn't get your fill of golfers with umbrellas last week at Oakmont, the accessory will make its return in Texas as a source of shade for players with temperatures expected to be in the 90s all week long.

This will be the first of many visits to Frisco – the new home of the PGA of America – for both the men's and women's PGA Championships in the coming years. Each will be hosted twice at Fields Ranch East within the next decade. The Gil Hanse design will become very familiar to golf fans over time, but this week is a first look for the women in the field and gives the championship a sense of unpredictability.

Width in the fairways should level the playing field off the tee. Deep bunkers around the greens will punish errant approaches, as will the green complexes that put a premium on finding the correct section of the undulating putting surfaces. Like a few weeks ago at Erin Hills, short grass surrounds the greens. Anything off-line will carry farther from the target and require skill and touch on the ensuing recovery shot. Course setup will also factor in as a variety of tees can be used to vary the day-to-day yardage.

The new venue isn't the only thing that makes this week a guessing game. Majors have been a source of some of the most unpredictable and unexpected winners in recent years. At this event last year, Amy Yang, an LPGA Tour veteran playing in her 75th major, broke through for her first major win. Her victory would barely crack the top 10 of random major winners from the past decade. Victories from Sophia Popov, Hinako Shibuno, and A Lim Kim were straight out of left field. Combined with a talent pool that's never been deeper, the majors have never felt more wide open.

The increase in talent on the LPGA is the outcome of years of global growth. The downside of that shift is the parity it created. The resulting laundry list of major winners makes following along and becoming engaged as a fan very difficult. It's even more of a challenge when the product is not easily accessible. An underdog winner from out of the blue or a veteran beating players half her age makes for a feel-good story. That feeling loses its magic when it becomes the norm. Of the 12 majors played since 2023, there have been 11 different winners. The only repeat champion is Lilia Vu. Recent eras of domination in the majors from Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, Inbee Park, and Yani Tseng feel like a very, very long time ago.

A run of multiple major wins by one of the LPGA’s top players would inject some much-needed life into the women's game. It's about to get another boost next month when Commissioner Craig Kessler officially starts his new role. He has plans to be on-site this week in Frisco to meet with players and other stakeholders. On the latest episode of The Mixed Bag, Stacy Lewis, who was on the commissioner search committee, hinted at some significant changes that could be coming to the Tour. Television coverage improvements and increasing player visibility are top priorities, and Kessler seems more than equipped to make strides in both areas. The problem he faces is one that every sport deals with to a certain extent. Each week, when play begins on Thursday, what happens over the next four days is out of his hands. What women's golf needs most is its biggest stars winning the biggest events on the calendar. Not just once, but consistently. Maybe that starts this week.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.