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 in the Greater Houston area.
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. It relocated to Houston in 2023 due to a new sponsorship agreement with Chevron Corporation. The tournament was held at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in The Woodlands from 2023 to 2025, and will move to Houston's Memorial Park course beginning 2026.
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—a tradition that would be carried over to the tournament's future hosts. An annual women's festival that originally coincided with the championship has been held since 1991.
History Founded in 1972 by Colgate-Palmolive chairman and entertainer the championship has been classified as a major since From its inception, it had been held annually at Shore's favorite course, 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 reference to its slogan "Inspiration of Japan").
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).
It was also announced that the tournament would move to the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas in 2023, with a new mid-April scheduling. Dinah Shore's daughter Melissa Montgomery established an advisory board to oversee the tournament's transition. Officials intended the date change to allow for network television coverage on NBC. It was also 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. Following the move, the Dinah Shore's traditional weekend at Mission Hills was taken up by the PGA Tour Champions' Galleri Classic.
In January 2026, it was announced that the tournament would move to Houston's Memorial Park Golf Course—the host of the PGA Tour's Houston Open—for 2026.
Tournament names Years Tournament name1972–1980 Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle1981 Colgate-Dinah Shore1982 Nabisco Dinah Shore Invitational1983–1999 Nabisco Dinah Shore2000–2001 Nabisco Championship2002–2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship2015–2021 ANA Inspirationfrom 2022 The Chevron Championship Informally, it is commonly referred to as "the Dinah Shore,"even though her name was removed from the official title in 2000.The winner's trophy bears Shore's name.
"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.
The tradition 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 the jump into the lake. With the move to Memorial Park, a man-made pond will be constructed near Memorial Park's 18th green in time for the 2027 tournament, with a temporary concrete-lined pool being used for 2026; organizers hoped the dedicated construction would alleviate the hesitancy over the lake jump used at The Woodlands.
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. The delay was also initially induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Winners
Year Dates Champion Country Score To par Marginof victory Purse($) Winner'sshare ($)2026 Apr 23–26 Nelly Korda (2) 65-65-70-70 270−18 5 strokes 9,000,000 1,350,0002025 Apr 24–27 Mao Saigo 70-68-69-74 281 −7 Playoff 8,000,000 1,200,0002024 Apr 18–21 Nelly Korda 68-69-69-69 275 −13 2 strokes 7,900,000 1,200,0002023 Apr 20–23 Lilia Vu 68-69-73-68 278 −10 Playoff 5,100,000 765,0002022 Mar 31 – Apr 3 Jennifer Kupcho 66-70-64-74 274 −14 2 strokes 5,000,000 750,0002021 Apr 1–4 Patty Tavatanakit 66-69-67-68 270 −18 2 strokes 3,100,000 465,0002020 Sep 10–13 Mirim Lee 70-65-71-67 273 −15 Playoff 3,100,000 465,0002019 Apr 4–7 Ko Jin-young 69-71-68-70 278 −10 3 strokes 3,000,000 450,0002018 Mar 29 – Apr 2^ Pernilla Lindberg 65-67-70-71 273 −15 Playoff 2,800,000 420,0002017 Mar 30 – Apr 2 Ryu So-yeon 68-69-69-68 274 −14 Playoff 2,700,000 405,0002016 Mar 31 – Apr 3 Lydia Ko 70-68-69-69 276 −12 1 stroke 2,600,000 390,0002015 Apr 2–5 Brittany Lincicome (2) 72-68-70-69 279 −9 Playoff 2,500,000 375,0002014 Apr 3–6 Lexi Thompson 73-64-69-68 274 −14 3 strokes 2,000,000 300,0002013 Apr 4–7 Inbee Park 70-67-67-69 273 −15 4 strokes 2,000,000 300,0002012 Mar 29 – Apr 1 Sun-Young Yoo 69-69-72-69 279 −9 Playoff 2,000,000 300,0002011 Mar 31 – Apr 3 Stacy Lewis 66-69-71-69 275 −13 3 strokes 2,000,000 300,0002010 Apr 1–4 Yani Tseng 69-71-67-68 275 −13 1 stroke 2,000,000 300,0002009 Apr 2–5 Brittany Lincicome 66-74-70-69 279 −9 1 stroke 2,000,000 300,0002008 Apr 3–6 Lorena Ochoa 68-71-71-67 277 −11 5 strokes 2,000,000 300,0002007 Mar 29 – Apr 1 Morgan Pressel 74-72-70-69 285 −3 1 stroke 2,000,000 300,0002006 Mar 30 – Apr 2 Karrie Webb (2) 70-68-76-65 279 −9 Playoff 1,800,000 270,0002005 Mar 24–27 Annika Sörenstam (3) 70-69-66-68 273 −15 8 strokes 1,800,000 270,0002004 Mar 25–28 Grace Park 72-69-67-69 277 −11 1 stroke 1,600,000 240,0002003 Mar 27–30 Patricia Meunier-Lebouc 70-68-70-73 281 −7 1 stroke 1,600,000 240,0002002 Mar 28–31 Annika Sörenstam (2) 70-71-71-68 280 −8 1 stroke 1,500,000 225,0002001 Mar 22–25 Annika Sörenstam 72-70-70-69 281 −7 3 strokes 1,500,000 225,0002000 Mar 23–26 Karrie Webb 67-70-67-70 274 −14 10 strokes 1,250,000 187,5001999 Mar 25–28 Dottie Pepper (2) 70-66-67-66 269 −19 6 strokes 1,000,000 150,0001998 Mar 26–29 Pat Hurst 68-72-70-71 281 −7 1 stroke 1,000,000 150,0001997 Mar 27–30 Betsy King (3) 71-67-67-71 276 −12 2 strokes 900,000 135,0001996 Mar 28–31 Patty Sheehan 71-72-67-71 281 −7 1 stroke 900,000 135,0001995 Mar 23–26 Nanci Bowen 69-75-71-70 285 −3 1 stroke 850,000 127,5001994 Mar 24–27 Donna Andrews 70-69-67-70 276 −12 2 strokes 700,000 105,0001993 Mar 25–28 Helen Alfredsson 69-71-72-72 284 −4 2 strokes 700,000 105,0001992 Mar 26–29 Dottie Mochrie 69-71-70-69 279 −9 Playoff 700,000 105,0001991 Mar 28–31 Amy Alcott (3) 67-70-68-68 273 −15 8 strokes 600,000 90,0001990 Mar 29 – Apr 1 Betsy King (2) 69-70-69-75 283 −5 2 strokes 600,000 90,0001989 Mar 30 – Apr 2 Juli Inkster (2) 66-69-73-71 279 −9 5 strokes 500,000 80,0001988 Mar 31 – Apr 3 Amy Alcott (2) 71-66-66-71 274 −14 2 strokes 500,000 80,0001987 Apr 2–5 Betsy King 68-75-72-68 283 −5 Playoff 500,000 80,0001986 Apr 3–6 Pat Bradley 68-72-69-71 280 −8 2 strokes 430,000 75,0001985 Apr 4–7 Alice Miller 70-68-70-67 275 −13 3 strokes 400,000 55,0001984 Apr 5–8 Juli Inkster 70-73-69-68 280 −8 Playoff 400,000 55,0001983 Mar 31 – Apr 3 Amy Alcott 70-70-70-72 282 −6 2 strokes 400,000 55,000 ^ Play extended one day due to darkness. Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Winners as a non-major Year Champion Country Score To par Marginof victory Purse($) Winner'sshare ($)1982 Sally Little 76-67-71-64 278 −10 3 strokes 300,000 45,0001981 Nancy Lopez 71-73-69-64 277 −11 2 strokes 250,000 37,5001980 Donna Caponi 71-67-66-71 275 −13 2 strokes 250,000 37,5001979 Sandra Post (2) 68-70-68-70 276 −12 1 stroke 250,000 37,5001978 Sandra Post 65-75-72-72 283 −5 Playoff 240,000 36,0001977 Kathy Whitworth 76-70-72-71 289 +1 1 stroke 240,000 36,0001976 Judy Rankin 74-72-71-68 285 −3 3 strokes 185,000 32,0001975 Sandra Palmer 70-70-70-73 283 −5 1 stroke 180,000 32,0001974 Jo Ann Prentice 71-71-74-73 289 +1 Playoff 179,000 32,0001973 Mickey Wright 71-74-71-68 284 −4 2 strokes 135,000 25,0001972 Jane Blalock 71-70-72 213 −3 3 strokes 110,000 20,050
Multiple champions Multiple winners of the event as a major championship.
ChampionCountryTotalYearsAmy Alcott 31983, 1988, 1991Betsy King 31987, 1990, 1997Annika Sörenstam ‡ 32001, 2002, 2005Juli Inkster ‡ 21984, 1989Dottie Pepper 21992, 1999Karrie Webb ‡ 22000, 2006Brittany Lincicome 22009, 2015Nelly Korda 22024, 2026 Career Grand Slam winners ‡
Through 2025, the only successful defense of the title (as a major) was by Sörenstam in 2002. As a non-major (1972–1982), the only multiple winner was Sandra Post (1978, 1979).
Tournament records YearPlayerScoreRound 2021 Lydia Ko 62 (−10) 4th 2006 Lorena Ochoa 62 (−10) 1st
References
External links
LPGA official tournament microsite Mission Hills Country Club – golf PGA of America – Mission Hills Country Club, Dinah Shore course