Courtesy of The Club at Carlton Woods
The Chevron Championship officially has a new home.
The LPGA Tour announced Tuesday that the major will be played at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club at Carlton Woods. The event will also move dates and is scheduled to be played April 20-23, 2023.
“I am so thankful to our partners at Chevron, The Club at Carlton Woods and IMG for their dedication to presenting our LPGA Tour players with a world-class competition as the kick-off to our major season,” LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said in a statement. “In moving the championship to Houston, it was critical that we find a venue worthy of this historic championship and we could not be more excited about our partnership with Carlton Woods.”
The move to Houston ends a 50-year run in Palm Springs for the LPGA’s first major of the year. The Chevron Championship, which has taken on many different title sponsors over the years, was first played on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in 1972.
The Chevron Corporation agreed to be the title sponsor of the event in 2021, with the agreement that the tournament would move to the Houston area in 2023. As a part of their sponsorship, the purse was increased by 60% in 2022, up to $5 million.
“Partnership is foundational to everything we do at Chevron,” said Al Williams, Chevron’s Vice President Corporate Affairs. “We are excited to embark on this journey with the LPGA, IMG, and our new partners at Carlton Woods to take this prestigious Championship forward into a new, exciting era for women’s golf.”
The new date also means the tournament won’t have to compete with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which has previously been played the same week, for top young talent.
Jennifer Kupcho won the final Chevron Championship at Mission Hills earlier this spring for her first major title.