LPGA interim commissioner Liz Moore already making moves, but does she want the job?

USA Today

06-02-2025

LPGA interim commissioner Liz Moore already making moves, but does she want the job?
BRADENTON, Fla. — Liz Moore's first player meeting was a memorable one. The LPGA's new pace-of-play policy, presented to the membership on Tuesday at the Founders Cup, should be a shot in the arm for the 75-year-old tour. Players praised the interim commissioner's humble, transparent, and straightforward style.
'It was a very different tone,' said Angel Yin. 'It was honestly to the point – she's a lawyer. … She listed all the things that she wanted to speak about, spoke about it, and then left. It's not a lot words. It's not a word salad up there, trying to figure out what's going on.'
Gaby Lopez went so far as to say she hopes Moore keeps the job.
'We need a strong figure,' said Lopez.
Hired on by Mike Whan in 2014, Moore served as the tour's Chief Legal and Technology Officer and Corporate Secretary when she took on the role of interim commissioner, filling in after Mollie Marcoux Samaan stepped down in early January. Moore also chairs the Ladies European Tour joint venture board and is the primary liaison to the LPGA's international business offices in Europe and Asia.
The tour is expected to hire its 10th commissioner sometime after the first quarter of 2025.
Golfweek sat down with Moore at Bradenton Country Club, site of the tour's first full-field event of the season. Here are excerpts from that conversation:
GWK: As interim commissioner, what are your biggest priorities in the short term, with maybe saving some things that you feel like should be for the next person, whoever that might be?
Liz Moore: First of all, in terms of establishing priorities, one of the things that I did do, is listen, and that included our whole set of stakeholders, and I'm still listening, and going to keep listening to people like you and others. I learned a lot and it was it was almost overwhelming, and it probably shouldn't have been to me, just the level of passion and support and excitement around this business from everybody – the players, the sponsors, tournament owners. You know, I think they've recognized we've been through rapid growth and a lot of change. But they're focused on the future, and they got a lot of ideas.
I've been talking with the team about staying relentlessly focused on really three things. We've got great trends in fan interest and engagement, and it's continuing those trends and the momentum behind that; driving revenue, obviously important to everybody; and then continuing to focus on enhancing the overall experience of the players.
Everything we're doing this year is going to be lined up behind that.
You're already off to a fast start with pace of play, especially with it being such a massive topic in the game as a whole right now. What are your hopes for what this new policy can do to help the entertainment factor of the tour?
LM: Yeah, it's a great question. First, I think it's obviously no secret that pace of play has been a significant issue. It's been written about a lot, and I think that this policy is a significant step forward to hopefully resolving it. I'm really proud that it was a player-led initiative. And I think it's been at least initially, you know, positively received, and I think that they're they're all leaning into kind of working with us on it. They understand the need for it.
Is there anything that you feel you should leave specifically for whoever takes the spot later in the year – it might be you, I don't know – things you feel like should follow that person's vision.
LM: First of all, I think that we've got just a tremendous opportunity in front of us. I think everybody understands that, you know, the moment is a movement. And so my goal is to leverage that, our goal is to leverage that and use these tailwinds around women's sports to continue the momentum that we have. For me, you know, I think my job is to continue that momentum and my job is to leave a strong foundation and really tee up the tour so that the next commissioner, when they're identified, are ready to execute their strategy and their vision.
Is there anything in the listening tour that you wrote down and underlined like five times. Anything really earth-shattering or something that surprised you?
LM: Well, like I said, I think the surprising part to me was that kind of overwhelming excitement and passion that everybody has around it, and the potential that they see, and that everybody's really looking forward, which is really exciting.
I'm going to keep listening. I think for me, you know, one of the things that I heard was we've got this opportunity now as we go into our 75th year … to kind of recapture some of that agility, some of that grittiness, some of that determination. You know, leaning into the success of the tour, across all stakeholders, and that's the players, the sponsors and our tournament owners.
Are you going to throw your name in the ring?
LM: You might imagine that I got that question from just about everybody that I spoke with, and first of all, I'll say that I love the LPGA, like you do, and I am very honored to be asked by the board to step in and to serve. As you said, it's unique, you know, a unique position, and I'm really good at the details, but my talents are really best behind the scenes. So I will not be applying for the job.