A few years after 13 women founded the LPGA in 1950, the players who created a tour of their own decided they needed a championship of their own. So in 1955, Beverly Hanson defeated Louise Suggs 4 and 3 in the finals of the first LPGA Championship.

The next year, the tournament went to stroke play. And 60 years later – in 2015 – the first KPMG Women’s PGA Championship took the Tour’s flagship event to undreamed of heights.

Now, on the 70th birthday of the LPGA, the KPMG Women’s PGA is not only one of the Tour’s five major championships but also a beacon for socially relevant sporting events. The Women’s PGA is the right tournament at the right time for all the right reasons.

When leaders of the LPGA, PGA of America, KPMG and NBC gathered on May 29, 2014 in New York to announce plans to transform the LPGA Championship there were critics and naysayers.

But five championships later, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is an unquestioned success. That the global pandemic pushed this year’s tournament at Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia from June to October is just another example of its resiliency.

From the beginning, the goal for the KPMG Women’s PGA matched that of the Founders: Equality for women. Equal pay; equal exposure; equal treatment and equal opportunity in every workplace.

Let’s see if that mission has been accomplished.

The first five Women’s PGA Championships have been played at world-class venues: Westchester Country Club, Sahalee, Olympia Fields, Kemper Lakes and Hazeltine National. After Aronimino looms Atlanta Athletic Club, Congressional, Baltusrol and PGA Frisco.

Job 1 accomplished: Upgrade the venues.

The best venues produce the best winners. Take a look at the current Rolex Rankings of the Women’s PGA winners from the past five years:

2015 - Inbee Park, No. 11;
2016 - Brooke Henderson, No. 7;
2017 - Danielle Kang, No. 5;
2018 - Sung Hyun Park, No. 3;
2019 - Hannah Green, No. 21.

Job 2 accomplished: Identify the best players.

With the multiple assets of NBCUniversal – Golf Channel and NBC Sports, enhanced by digital properties – the KPMG Women’s PGA receives first-class attention.

Job 3 accomplished: Upgrade the exposure.

When the first Women’s PGA was played in 2015, prize money increased from $2.25 million to $3.5 million. This year, the total purse is $4.3 million – a 91 percent increase over 2014.

Job 4 accomplished: Make significant strides toward pay equity with men’s events.

And then there is the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit, scheduled for Oct. 7 at Aronimink. Through high-profile speakers from sports, business, politics and the arts, the summit strives to bring together women aspiring to reach the C-suite with those already there to share ideas on overcoming obstacles to success particular to women.

Job 5 accomplished: Make the Women’s PGA about more than golf.

“This is consistent with our mission, to serve our members and to grow the game,” Pete Bevacqua, CEO of the PGA at the time and now president of NBC Sports Group, said in 2014. “We need to bring more women to golf and reach a more diverse constituency. We wanted to do something very big and very exciting for the women's game.”

For LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan, part of the challenge was communicating to his members that the change in name from the LPGA Championship to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was not a break with the past but rather an investment in the future.

“We asked ourselves what majors need to do to be around 50-, 100 years from now because longevity is what they are all about,” Whan said. “Certainly, the toughest part has been the name change, but it's best for the tour.”

To get that message across, Whan enlisted Hall of Fame members Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb.

“As someone who loves the tradition of the game, it will be tough to see the name change away from LPGA Championship, but it's comforting that the traditions, legacy, and opportunities for our members will still remain,” Webb said. “For younger players on tour, they can be confident that this tremendous championship will continue for decades to come, and be bigger and better than ever before.”

KPMG, one of the world’s leading professional services firms, has been in the forefront in the fight for gender equality. As TV viewers know, its endorsement partners Phil Mickelson and Stacy Lewis appear in commercials about shattering the glass ceiling.

“This collaboration will not only bring women's golf to new audiences - it also creates opportunities to expand women's leadership on and off the course, empowering today's women leaders and cultivating the next-generation of female leaders,” said John Veihmeyer, who was Global Chairman of KPMG in 2014.

That commitment to use golf to inspire the fight for equality in all areas of society has been emulated by other events and in other sports, making KPMG a true pioneer.

“The KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit aims to advance and empower women, across multiple industries, by connecting today’s luminaries with the next generation of talent,” says current KPMG U.S. Chairman and CEO Lynne Doughtie. “Through this initiative and many others, KPMG remains deeply committed to helping close the women’s leadership gap.”

The 13 Founders of the LPGA were special in that they saw opportunity when others failed to do so. The same can be said for those behind the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

“KPMG is visionary," Whan says. “It's great to have a partner who sees a bigger picture than you do. They said this doesn't work for us unless it helps women outside the ropes as well as inside the ropes.”

That is an especially relevant message in this time of multiple challenges. Sports has always been a petri dish for social change, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and inspiring – in fact, requiring – them to work together.

Following in the footsteps of the Founders, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has paved a path to progress. Certainly, that was the goal 70 years ago.

LPGA, PGA, KPMG and NBC Sharpened the Vision of The Founders

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