35-653: The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour , it is one of the tour's five major championships , and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Since 2023, it has been played on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas . Founded in 1972 by singer and actress Dinah Shore and Colgate-Palmolive chairman David Foster, it
70-472: A change of dates. Dinah Shore's daughter Melissa Montgomery established an advisory board to oversee the tournament's transition. Officials intend the date change to allow for network television coverage on NBC , it has also been suggested that the tournament was moved in deference to the Augusta National Women's Amateur , which had begun to conflict with the tournament in 2019. From 1988 to 2022,
105-712: A group in 2023 though six had already been inducted individually. The first LPGA tournament was the 1950 Tampa Women's Open , held at Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club in Tampa, Florida. Ironically, the winner was amateur Polly Riley , who beat the stellar field of professional founders. In 1956, the LPGA hosted its first tournament outside the United States at the Havana Open in Havana, Cuba. In 2001, Jane Blalock 's JBC Marketing established
140-456: A six-year sponsorship agreement with energy company Chevron Corporation was announced that would see the tournament renamed The Chevron Championship, with an increased prize fund of $ 5 million in 2022, up from $ 3 million in 2021. It was also announced that the tournament will be moved to the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club at Carlton Woods in the Greater Houston area in 2023, with
175-454: Is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida , and is best known for running the LPGA Tour , a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite women professional golfers from around the world. Other "LPGAs" exist in other countries, each with a geographical designation in its name, but the U.S. organization
210-556: Is associated with several traditions; in 1988, Amy Alcott established a tradition of the event's champion diving into the pond that surrounds the 18th hole (a tradition that would be carried over to The Woodlands), while an annual women's festival that originally coincidined with the championship has been held since 1991, attracting a large number of female tourists to the Rancho Mirage area. Founded in 1972 by Colgate-Palmolive chairman David Foster, and entertainer Dinah Shore ,
245-576: Is the first, largest, and most prestigious. The LPGA is also an organization for female club and teaching professionals. This is different from the PGA Tour , which runs the main professional tours in the U.S. and, since 1968, has been independent of the club and teaching professionals' organization, the Professional Golfers' Association of America (or PGA of America). The LPGA also administers an annual qualifying school similar to that conducted by
280-555: The LPGA Championship or the U.S. Women's Open . The first edition invited all winners of tour events from the previous ten seasons. After over twenty years of sponsorship by Nabisco , and parent company Kraft Foods , Japanese airline All Nippon Airways became the title sponsor of the tournament in late 2014, renaming the tournament the ANA Inspiration (in reference to its slogan "Inspiration of Japan"). In October 2021,
315-564: The Women's Australian Open (also co-sanctioned with the ALPG Tour ). The other two co-sanctioned events—the BMW Ladies Championship ( LPGA of Korea Tour ) and Toto Japan Classic ( LPGA of Japan Tour )—are held during the tour's autumn swing to Asia. The LPGA's annual major championships are: Source: Since 2006 , the LPGA has played a season-ending championship tournament. Through
350-731: The 2008 season, it was known as the LPGA Playoffs at The ADT ; in 2009 and 2010 , it was known as the LPGA Tour Championship . In 2011 , the event became the CME Group Titleholders , held in November; since 2014, it has been known as the CME Group Tour Championship, and that name is used as of 2024 . From 2006 through 2008 the LPGA schedule was divided into two halves, with 15 players from each half qualifying for
385-530: The CME Globe champions include Lydia Ko (2014, 2015), Ariya Jutanugarn (2016, 2018) and Lexi Thompson (2017). In 2010, total official prize money on the LPGA Tour was $ 41.4 million, a decrease of over $ 6 million from 2009 . In 2010 there were 24 official tournaments, down from 28 in 2009 and 34 in 2008. Despite the loss in total tournaments, the number of tournaments hosted outside of the United States in 2010 stayed
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#1733085309616420-606: The Championship based on their performance. Two wild-card selections were also included for a final field of 21 players. The winner of the LPGA Tour Championship, which features three days of "playoffs" plus the final championship round, earns $ 1 million. In 2009, the Tour Championship field was increased to 120 players, with entry open to all Tour members in the top 120 on the money list as of three weeks prior to
455-639: The Dinah Shore tournament, and, until 2021, was held in the same week. A large number of lesbians and bisexual women visited the Palm Springs area for the festival and tournament; the Dinah Shore Weekend was described by Los Angeles as the "largest annual gathering of queer women and their female allies", while the tournament as a whole had been described as " spring break for lesbians." The event continues to be held annually in Palm Springs; ahead of
490-731: The Hall of Fame of Women's Golf in 1951, with four charter members: Patty Berg , Betty Jameson , Louise Suggs , and Babe Zaharias . After being inactive for several years, the Hall of Fame moved in 1967 to its first physical premises, in Augusta, Georgia , and was renamed the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. In 1998 it merged into the World Golf Hall of Fame . The LPGA Tour presents several annual awards. Three are awarded in competitive contests, based on scoring over
525-570: The PGA Tour. Depending on a golfer's finish in the final qualifying tournament, she may receive full or partial playing privileges on the LPGA Tour. In addition to the main LPGA Tour, the LPGA also owns and operates the Epson Tour , formerly the Futures Tour, the official developmental tour of the LPGA. Top finishers at the end of each season on that tour receive playing privileges on the main LPGA Tour for
560-590: The U.S. and North America. Initially called the LPGA Women Who Play, the amateur organization was rebranded as the LPGA Amateur Golf Association. The LPGA Amateur Golf Association has member-operated chapters throughout North America and the Caribbean. As a United States–based tour, most of the LPGA Tour's events are held in the United States. In 1956, the LPGA hosted its first tournament outside
595-712: The United States at the Havana Open in Havana, Cuba . In 2020, fourteen tournaments are held outside of the United States, seven events in Asia, four in Europe, two events in Australia, and one in Canada. Five of the tournaments held outside North America are co-sanctioned with other professional tours. The Ladies European Tour co-sanctions the Women's British Open , The Evian Championship in France, and
630-551: The Women's Senior Golf Tour, now called the Legends Tour , for women professionals aged 45 and older. This is affiliated with the LPGA, but is not owned by the LPGA. Michael Whan , a former marketing executive in the sporting goods industry, became the eighth commissioner of the LPGA in October 2009, succeeding the ousted Carolyn Bivens . After a lawsuit filed by golfer Lana Lawless ,
665-536: The championship has been classified as a major since 1983 . Since its inception, it has been held annually at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California , southeast of Palm Springs . It is the first major of the year, usually played in late March or early April. At its debut in 1972 as a 54-hole event, it was the richest event in women's golf; its purse was more than double that of
700-446: The course of the year. American golfer Nancy Lopez , in 1978, is the only player to win all three awards in the same season. Lopez was also the Tour's top money earner that season. 1 The five players with three titles in 1988 were Juli Inkster , Rosie Jones , Betsy King , Nancy Lopez , and Ayako Okamoto . The table below shows the top-10 career money leaders on the LPGA Tour (from
735-446: The field is determined by a season-long points race, the Race to the CME Globe. Points conferred to players on tour depend on whether the tournament is major or not, and placement. From 2014 to 2018, the top 72 players in the Race to the CME Globe competed in the CME Group Tour Championship, with the top 12 players mathematically eligible to win a $ 1 million bonus in 2017 and 2018. Past Race to
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#1733085309616770-405: The first player living outside the United States to gain an LPGA tour card in 1968 . The non-U.S. contingent is now very large. The last time an American player topped the money list was in 2014 ( Stacy Lewis ), the last time an American led the tour in tournaments won was in 2020 ( Danielle Kang ), and from 2000 through 2009, non-Americans won 31 of 40 major championships. Particularly, one of
805-506: The following year. The LPGA is the oldest continuing women's professional sports organization in the United States. It succeeded the WPGA (Women's Professional Golf Association), which was founded in 1944 but stopped its limited tour after the 1948 season and officially ceased operations in December 1949. The WPGA had been founded by Ellen Griffin , Betty Hicks , and Hope Seignious . The LPGA
840-472: The jump into the lake. A women's festival known as the Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend has been held in the city of Palm Springs, California , featuring concerts by female musicians, comedy shows, parties, and other events and networking opportunities. The Dinah Shore Weekend was first organized in 1991 by promoter Mariah Hanson; it expanded upon afterparties that had become associated with
875-637: The notable trends seen in the early 21st century in the LPGA is the rise and dominance of Korean golfers. Se Ri Pak 's early success in the LPGA sparked the boom in Korean women golfers on the LPGA Tour. In 2009, there were 122 non-Americans from 27 countries on the tour, including 47 from South Korea, 14 from Sweden , 10 from Australia , eight from the United Kingdom (four from England , three from Scotland and one from Wales ), seven from Canada, five from Taiwan , and four from Japan . The LPGA established
910-581: The rules were changed in 2010 to allow transgender competitors. In 2013, trans woman Bobbi Lancaster faced local scorn for attempting to play in Arizona's Cactus Tour in hopes of getting a spot for the LPGA Qualifying Tournament . In 2018, the LPGA acquired an amateur golf association, the Executive Women's Golf Association (EWGA), and expanded its emphasis to include amateur golfers in
945-423: The same, as all four lost tournaments had been hosted in the United States. By 2016, the number of tournaments had risen to 33 with a record-high total prize money in excess of $ 63 million. In 2019, a new record was set with total prize money amounting to $ 70.5 million (a rise of over $ 5 million in one year). In its first four decades, the LPGA Tour was dominated by American players. Sandra Post of Canada became
980-510: The start of the tournament. The total purse was $ 1.5 million with $ 225,000 going to the winner. The CME Group Titleholders , which resurrects the name of a former LPGA major championship (the Titleholders Championship ), was first played in 2011. From 2011 to 2013, its field was made up of three qualifiers from each official tour event during the season, specifically the top three finishers not previously qualified. After 2014,
1015-545: The start of their rookie seasons) as of the 2024 season. Active players on the Tour are shown in bold . Nanci Bowen Nanci Bowen (born March 31, 1967, in Tifton, Georgia ) is an American professional golfer . She attended the University of Georgia and her rookie season on the LPGA Tour was 1991. Her highlight victory on the Tour came at one of the major championships , the 1995 Nabisco Dinah Shore . As of 2015, Bowen
1050-465: The tournament's relocation, the festival moved to an autumn scheduling beginning in 2021 due to weather conditions and lower hotel costs. ^ Play extended one day due to darkness. Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records. Multiple winners of the event as a major championship. Through 2024 , the only successful defense of the title (as a major) was by Sörenstam in 2002 . LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association ( LPGA )
1085-456: The winner traditionally celebrated her victory by jumping in the pond surrounding the 18th green. The pond is known as Champions Lake or "Poppie's Pond" as it was dubbed in 2006 honor of Terry Wilcox , the tournament director from 1994 through 2008; Wilcox is known as "Poppie" to his grandchildren. Amy Alcott established the tradition in 1988 to celebrate her second win here, and repeated in 1991 , including tournament host Dinah Shore. It
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1120-489: Was carried over to The Woodlands; the lake between the 9th and 18th holes was dredged , cleaned, and had netting installed to protect against alligators , and a dock and ladder was built on the 18th hole. Prior to the 2023 tournament, several players expressed uncertainty over whether they would take the jump—now into a natural lake instead of the treated pool used in Mission Hills. Its first champion, Lilia Vu , would take
1155-470: Was founded in 1950 at Rolling Hills Country Club in Wichita, Kansas . Its 13 founders were: Alice Bauer , Patty Berg , Bettye Danoff , Helen Dettweiler , Marlene Hagge , Helen Hicks , Opal Hill , Betty Jameson , Sally Sessions , Marilynn Smith , Shirley Spork , Louise Suggs , and Babe Zaharias . Patty Berg served as its first president. The founders were elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame as
1190-406: Was not embraced by others until 1994 , when Donna Andrews made the leap, followed by Nanci Bowen the next year , and it became an annual tradition. In 1998 , winner Pat Hurst waded in only up to her knees, as she could not swim. Originally a very natural water hazard, the portion near the bridge was later lined with concrete and has treated water, more like a swimming pool. The tradition
1225-454: Was played at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California , from its inception through 2022. Sometimes referred to as The Dinah Shore in deference to its founder, the tournament has had many official sponsored titles, all of which included Shore's name until 2000. The tournament relocated to the Greater Houston area in 2023 due to a new sponsorship agreement with Chevron Corporation . The championship's time at Mission Hills
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