Chevron Championship


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.
Founded in 1972 by singer and actress Dinah Shore and Colgate-Palmolive chairman David Foster, it 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 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, while an annual women's festival that originally coincided with the championship has been held since 1991, attracting a large number of female tourists to the Rancho Mirage area.

History

Founded in 1972 by Colgate-Palmolive chairman and entertainer the championship has been classified as a major since 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 its purse was more than double that of the LPGA Championship or the U.S. Women's Open. The first edition invited all winners of tour events from the previous
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 October 2021, 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.
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.

Tournament names

"Poppie's Pond"

From 1988 to 2022, 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
Amy Alcott established the tradition in 1988 to celebrate her second win here, and repeated in 1991, including tournament host It 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 In 1998, winner Pat Hurst waded in only up to her knees, as she could 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.

Associated events

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 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 the tournament's relocation, the festival moved to an autumn scheduling beginning in 2021 due to weather conditions and lower hotel costs.

Winners

^ Play extended one day due to darkness.
''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''

Winners as a non-major

Multiple champions

Multiple winners of the event as a major championship.
ChampionCountryTotalYears
Amy Alcott31983, 1988, 1991
Betsy King31987, 1990, 1997
Annika Sörenstam ‡32001, 2002, 2005
Juli Inkster ‡21984, 1989
Dottie Pepper21992, 1999
Karrie Webb ‡22000, 2006
Brittany Lincicome22009, 2015

Through 2025, the only successful defense of the title was by Sörenstam in 2002.
  • As a non-major, the only multiple winner was Sandra Post.

    Tournament records