LPGA’s first major to undergo sweeping changes; new dates, venue starting in 2023
Sweeping changes are coming to the LPGA’s first major championship of the year.
Golfweek is reporting that the ANA Inspiration will not only receive a new title sponsor and purse bump next year, but beginning in 2023, the championship will have a new home and move to a new slot on the calendar, away from its usual pre-Masters dates.
Come next spring, the major will be called the Chevron Championship, as Chevron Corporation replaces ANA as title sponsor after seven years, and the purse will increase from $3.1 million to $5 million, which again gives the event the largest in women’s golf. Future plans include relocating – Golfweek says likely to the Houston area – and competition dates later in the spring, which would allow the championship to be broadcast on NBC.
The tour’s new commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, is expected to make an official announcement during a virtual press conference with the media at 11 a.m. ET.
This year’s ANA Inspiration, won by Patty Tavatanakit in April, marked the 50th edition of the event, which had been held annually at Mission Hills Country Club’s Dinah Shore Tournament Course in Rancho Mirage, California, since the tournament’s inception in 1972.
Co-founded by Colgate-Palmolive chairman David Foster and entertainer Dinah Shore, “The Dinah,” which the tournament has long been nicknamed, has played an important role in the history of women’s golf. It debuted with a purse almost triple that of the U.S. Women’s Open ($110,000 to $40,000). Its pro-ams attracted many celebrities, and its galleries were the best on tour. In 1982, the first year under new title sponsor Nabisco, it was the first women’s golf event to be televised all four rounds, though it had some TV coverage from the start.
A year later, “The Dinah” was officially promoted to major-championship designation. Many players, however, had already considered it one.
“It was probably a major from its first day,” LPGA Hall of Famer Donna Caponi told GolfChannel.com last year. “It was such an important event right from the start.”
With Shore’s old stomping grounds soon out as host venue, so, too, are the traditional late March/early April dates. Every year, with the exception of last year’s pandemic-rescheduled September edition, the championship has been held right before the Masters. However, since the creation of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019, there has been a schedule conflict for top amateurs, who have had to choose between the overlapping events.
In the past, former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan seemed committed to keeping the ANA dates as is, citing logistical issues with changing dates while keeping Mission Hills as host.
But Marcoux Samaan had other plans. In two years time, there will be no more splashes in Poppie’s Pond, which major winners have leaped into since Amy Alcott began the trend in 1988.
With Chevron now on board, the championship is all fueled up and ready for its next chapter.