Growing up in small-town Dunnellon, Florida, Laura Neal and her family played casual golf on Sundays when their family-owned restaurant, Lombardo’s, closed for the day. Her humble place in the game — which was simply an enjoyable bonding activity at the time — would turn into something she never imagined.
“Golf has always been part of my life, but I never thought I would make a career out of it,” Neal said.
That changed after Neal volunteered at the 1997 Players Championship, an experience that convinced her to intern with the LPGA. She graduated in 1998 from nearby St. Augustine’s Flagler College with a degree in communications and sport management, and quickly landed a full-time position with the LPGA, eventually becoming the director of public relations.
A self-described “road warrior” from the moment she started at the LPGA, Neal called the job “her second degree.” It was an education that featured traveling to tournaments worldwide for nine years as she played a key role in the tour’s communications. From dawn to dusk, Neal did everything from chasing down players for interviews to setting up computers and printers in the media center.
She was learning to become one of the most important voices in golf.
“Understanding how a tournament works, what makes it tick, how to deal with athletes, sponsors and volunteers is so important,” Neal said. “That experience on the road makes you valuable when and if you land behind a desk at headquarters.”
In 2007, Neal moved to the PGA Tour as senior director of communications. Six years later, she became vice president of communications.
“My superpower is connecting dots. ‘One plus one equals three’ is probably going to be on my tombstone.” – Laura Neal
In 2017, her role became even bigger.
“I got called into a meeting with the CFO. They told me it was about the (World Golf) Hall of Fame, so I’m walking into the meeting with my clipboard and notepad. They looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, that was a joke. You’re now going to run our communications,’” Neal recalled.
As the executive vice president of brand communications for the PGA Tour, Neal is the chief spokesperson responsible for all internal and external messaging. She leads a team of more than 40 employees, all in the name of driving awareness.
Neal is also the youngest member, and one of three women, on the commissioner’s executive leadership team.
“If you keep your head down and work hard, success will come. I didn’t have written on a dream board that I wanted Ty’s job,” Neal said, referring to predecessor Ty Votaw. “I was just plugging along — that’s my mantra. But as the saying goes, the reward for great work is more work. I learned that I’m overseeing content. I don’t know how to do that, but I figured it out.”
What makes Neal a distinguished leader is that her version of “figuring it out” is listening and learning from other voices. “My superpower is connecting dots. ‘One plus one equals three’ is probably going to be on my tombstone,” she said. “How do we take the great work that (two) different teams are doing and make it three? I don’t have a marketing background, but I know how to market at the tour. And you market it through content, players and tournaments.”
Neal emphasized the importance of bringing different backgrounds to the table in order to produce the best content. “During our storytelling process, there is a Wednesday call of over 100 people. And there is no hierarchy of ideas. People assume that there has to be a prerequisite of playing golf to work in golf, or that it’s for old white guys, but I know that’s not the case just walking around our building. We have a young, diverse group that’s helping to move the business forward. It’s really a recruitment in giving people the confidence to have their voices heard.”
Inclusion became a vital theme in March 2020 as Neal became a primary voice during a pivotal career moment. COVID-19 had shut down most businesses, even places like Disney World in central Florida. In the past when the tour discussed major decisions, the communications team was simply asked to formulate a statement. That changed for good once the pandemic hit.
“We had a voice in the room and were part of making some really huge landmark decisions for the tour,” Neal said. “I give a lot of credit to (tour commissioner) Jay Monahan for that. Being able to help change the process and the culture has been really rewarding for me and for the team to have that trust that we are part of the solution versus (being) the people that talk about it after the fact.”
Additionally, in the last couple of years Neal has been the leading voice behind Monahan on how the tour will market itself against its fledgling competitor, LIV Golf.
“This year is the most transformative year in tour history,” Neal said. “Now it’s product versus product. I’m really excited about what you’ve seen so far this year. The energy, the players who are rising to the top … the way our players appreciate what the tour is and what competing for trophies and golf that matters means.”
It’s imperative now more than ever to celebrate women like Neal who are the driving forces behind the narratives in the golf industry. Neal relies on numerous leadership qualities — such as adaptability, inclusivity and elite management — that she shares with her employees. One way Neal does that is to come up with one word each year in an effort to inspire her team.
This year, the word is enough.
“The word sounds like it means, ‘I’ve had it up to here,’ but that’s not why I picked it,” Neal said. “It’s to remind myself and my team that noise aside, we have enough of everything we need. We have all the ingredients here. Let’s focus on putting those together and winning.”
It’s profoundly simple advice.
“We have enough. If you settle in that and believe in that, it’s freeing.”