Just eight days removed from the LPGA handing Jeeno Thitikul a $4 million check for winning the CME Group Tour Championship, commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan resigned after leading the LPGA for more than three years. The announcement came first thing Monday morning, after Thanksgiving weekend. Marcoux Samaan, whose contract was supposed to run through the summer of 2026, will remain in place until early January and a search firm will be hired to find the LPGA’s 10th commissioner.
Here we’ll do our best to explain some of the issues—good and bad—that will define her tenure and answer questions about what could’ve helped lead to this decision.
Is this a surprise?
Not really. It may seem abrupt to some on the outside, but to anyone on the inside it is not a shock, though there are almost no public clues being provided by the LPGA or Marcoux Samaan about why she’s departing early, other than the commissioner saying she’s looking forward to spending more time with her three children. It may be a surprise that it happened so quickly after the LPGA season ended, but the timing works because it gives the tour a full two months to use before its season-opening event in late January.
What were Marcoux Samaan’s biggest accomplishments?
She points to purses growing exponentially since 2021, and it’s an overall good look, but much of that growth has come from massive increases in money distributed at the major championships, of which she didn’t control. Another talking point has been that the average income of the top 100 players has gone to more than $1 million, up from $575,000 three years ago. Of course, an $11 million purse at the season finale boosted that. Two of the biggest victories of Marcoux Samaan’s tenure were less high profile—fully subsidized health care for players, which she announced three weeks ago at a players’ meeting, and that the tour added another $8 million in missed cut and travel stipends. Both were a long time coming and are appreciated by the players.
Biggest disappointments? Where did everything go wrong?
This answer will be a little lengthy, though there were some insights provided by Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols in mid-November in an account of Marcoux Samaan’s rocky tenure. For starters, Marcoux Samaan was not perceived as a deft communicator; she didn’t stand out in a room and seemingly failed to convey her overall plan and mission for the tour. Again, she was there for more than three years. There was enough time. The transportation fiasco at the Solheim Cup was the first big issue that happened that started people wondering if she had control of the organization. It was an embarrassment.
Critically, players, officials and media alike all questioned whether the LPGA fully capitalized on having an American star in Nelly Korda dominate the tour by winning seven times, while having feel-good stories such as Lydia Ko winning the Olympic gold medal to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, and Thitikul taking home the biggest prize in women’s golf—the $4 million being more than is handed out in three of the four men’s major championships.
On Korda, it should be noted that the World No. 1 missed significant time during the season due to injuries and also is a star reluctant to do high-profile media appearances that could raise her own and the LPGA’s stature for the general public. Whether Marcoux Samaan had talks with Korda imploring her to do more is unknown, but Korda’s low-profile approach didn’t do the commissioner any favors.
The upcoming schedule in 2025—the 75th year of the tour’s existence—was released two weeks ago and was relatively flat, with the same amount of events (33) and total purse increase of $3.6 million to $131 million, though the LPGA says there are likely to be further increases announced during the season. The negatives are that Cognizant, a Fortune 100 company, bailed as a sponsor and the tour’s own Founders Cup event doesn’t have a sponsor; the longtime stop outside Toledo, Ohio—which started in 1984—has folded, with an Epson Tour event in its place.
Finally, Marcoux Samaan was not proactive regarding difficult topics that players were passionate about, such as the LPGA’s gender policy, a potential merger with the Ladies European Tour, and its stance on a relationship with Golf Saudi.
Michael Reaves
What has Marcoux Samaan said about this?
The last time she spoke to the media was on Nov. 20, in what is typically considered the LPGA’s state of the tour address. She opened with a 1,727-word statement that painted a rosy picture for the tour, but there was little substance to the soliloquy. She recapped the year and talked about growth and metrics, but it was difficult to decipher a top headline. She also openly admitted that the tour previously had 22 people in its marketing and content department, and it’s now ballooned to 39. Again, if there are so many employees, there needed to be more definition on how the tour capitalized on Korda’s season, other than her appearance at the Met Gala and in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.
At that meeting Marcoux Samaan was asked to grade her performance and the performance of the LPGA. She said: “We’re growth-oriented. We try to get better every day. I tell my kids that every day: All you can do is wake up and try to get better and do the best you can and be the best person that you can be. So, I feel like that’s what I’ve done. I think it’s a hard job. We all work hard together. Our team is committed to the mission. I think the results sort of speak for themselves. … I think our team has done a really good job. We work really hard. Our staff is all over the world, and they love it. They’re dug into it, and I think that’s important.”
A follow-up question was asked for Marcoux Samaan to characterize her relationship with the players amid rumblings behind the scenes that it had soured. She said: “My job is to listen to the players and to hear what they need and what they want. I think I’ve done a good job of that. I think our staff has done a good job of that. We listen. A lot of the innovations and a lot of the things that we are doing, whether it’s for the schedule or the marketing or the players services comes from conversations with the players. I think we try to be available. We try to listen to what they need, and then we try to respond to that. I think that’s what our role is to support the athletes.”
What are others saying?
Very little, which speaks volumes. At a time when people seemingly weigh in about everything, there has been hardly a peep on social media from players in the immediate aftermath of the announcement. No thanks, no well wishes. Mostly, crickets.
Golf Channel analyst Paige Mackenzie, who played on the LPGA said on Monday: “There was a breakdown in communication in exactly what her vision was and how she saw growth happening. … Moving forward, for me, what I would love to hear from the next leader of the LPGA is explaining why the LPGA has value and how it can benefit all the partners involved.”
Tellingly, another Golf Channel broadcaster, Tom Abbott, who has covered the LPGA for years, said on “Golf Today” that he wasn’t surprised by the news and sensed that the tide of opinion had turned against Marcoux Samaan. “Some of the little things that weren’t taken care of obviously became much bigger issues,” Abbott said. “But they were not directly related to Mollie Marcoux Samaan. … But at the end of the day, it does fall on her shoulders, and it’s people not taking care of the little details, and that really makes a big difference.
“… I hope that her legacy is the increase in purses and the amount of money that players are playing for.”
Anything else we need to know?
Liz Moore, the LPGA’s chief legal and technology officer who has been with the tour for more than a decade, will become the interim commissioner on Jan. 9, 2025, and remain in place until a search firm finds the next commissioner.
Interestingly, while Marcoux Samaan’s time is being cut short for still-undisclosed reasons, LPGA board chair John Veihmeyer heaped praised on her in the LPGA’s release, noting her “exceptional” dedication and passion. “Mollie has been instrumental in solidifying our position as the global leader in women’s professional golf, realizing record growth in player earnings and fan engagement,” he wrote. “Mollie has been a steadfast advocate for equity in the sport and has worked tirelessly to expand opportunities for women and girls through the game. I am confident that the LPGA is well-positioned for continued success as we build on the growth trajectory of the past three and a half years of Mollie’s leadership.”
Here is a list of previous commissioners: Ray Volpe (1975-82), John Laupheimer (1982-88), Bill Blue (1988-90), Charlie Mechem (1991-95), Jim Ritts (1996-99), Ty Votaw (1999-2005), Carolyn Bivens (2005-09), Mike Whan (2010-21). Bivens, the LPGA’s first female commissioner, was ousted by players after struggling with relationships and losing some of the tour’s key, longstanding events.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
