The LPGA Tour viewing experience will improve dramatically in 2026, thanks to new commissioner Craig Kessler and a partnership with FM, Trackman and Golf Channel.
Every round of the next LPGA season will air live on Golf Channel or CNBC as part of this new, multi-year agreement where FM and Trackman are sponsoring improved coverage on the Versant networks. As part of the coverage enhancements, there will be a 50 percent increase in the number of cameras and a 200 percent increase in the number of microphones used around the course during the broadcast.
“The commitments from FM, Trackman and Golf Channel are a game-changer for our athletes, our fans, our partners and our Tour,” said Kessler.
“Starting in 2026, fans will immediately see and feel the difference: more cameras, better technology, richer storytelling and more ways to appreciate the unbelievable skill of our players, fully live. We’re grateful for the shared vision and investment from FM, Trackman and Golf Channel. This is a major step forward for the women’s game, and it’s only the beginning. The next chapter for the LPGA is going to be something special.”
Join Golf News Net for $10 per year, and go ad-free!Slow-motion cameras and drones will be employed to augment the coverage, and players will engage in walk-and-talk interviews designed to assist in the bigger goal of telling player-driven stories during telecasts.
"We are proud to take our partnership with the LPGA to an even higher level by supporting the transformation of the LPGA Tour’s broadcast, athlete and fan experience for the 2026 season and beyond,” said Malcolm Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of FM, which is title sponsor of the FM Championship, whose $4.1 million purse is the biggest non-major purse on the LPGA schedule.
As part of FM's investment, Trackman will be available to quadruple the LPGA’s shot-tracing capabilities from the 2025 season. Players’ shots traced by every camera in a tracing position.
“We are thrilled to further our investment into the LPGA and work to elevate the viewership experience. Adding more Trackman technology to the LPGA telecast is a key element of our objective of elevating the women’s game and helping the world get even more inspired from the world’s best golfers,” said Klaus Eldrup-Jørgensen, co-founder and CEO of Trackman, which will become the Official Golf Simulator and Official Launch Monitor of the LPGA.
“As we look to the future of this partnership, Trackman and the LPGA have the shared goals of creating exciting content that entertains and educates fans at home while providing additional resources for athletes on the course.”
Not since the Golf Channel's debut year in 1995 has the network aired every LPGA round live, routinely forcing coverage to tape delay, particularly when events conflict with the network's PGA Tour contract.
Golf Channel has reduced budget allocation to the LPGA in recent years as part of broader cost-cutting measures, impacting the coverage team's ability to showcase the LPGA to the fullest extent. With fewer cameras and personnel, coverage was more limited and meant showing fewer players and shots during the course of a telecast. In finding a partner in FM to pay for the coverage enhancements, the LPGA will now have a more consistent broadcast schedule that's always live and look better, creating a better TV product that more people will want to watch.
It's a win for every golf fan.
