Considering its intrinsic beauty and fantastic golf courses, it should come as no surprise the LPGA has a long and storied history in the paradise that is Hawaii.
Ever since the Tour made the decision to move the Women’s Kemper Open from California to the tropical set of islands in 1982, the LPGA has been a mainstay in Hawaii. Hall of Famer Amy Alcott won the Tour’s debut event that year at Royal Kaanapali North in Maui, and a number of her fellow Hall of Famers have followed as Hawaiian champions.
Just a the Women’s Kemper Open alone, Kathy Whitworth (1983), Betsy King (1984, 1989-90), Juli Inkster (1986) and Beth Daniel (1990) earned tournament titles. The LPGA added a second Hawaiian event, the Hawaiian Ladies Open, in 1987, and the Tour had a great 1-2 punch in back-to-back weeks until the Women’s Kemper Open went away in 1993.
The Hawaiian Ladies Open had a variety of sponsors – including Cup Noodles for a long stretch – during its run from 1987-2001, and its list of champions is also robust and impressive. From Hall of Famers Ayako Okamoto (1988), Daniel (1990), Patty Sheehan (1991), Annika Sorenstam (1997) and King (2000) to stars like Meg Mallon (1996), Wendy Ward (1998) and Catriona Matthew (2001), a plethora of high-profile players etched their names on the event’s trophy.
The LPGA added the Takefuji Classic in 2000, the year Hall of Famer Karrie Webb won, and Lorie Kane and Sorenstam followed as that event’s champions before it dropped off the schedule in 2003. Webb won the LPGA Skins Game, an unofficial event, in Hawaii that year, but there were no official Tour events in the state in 2003 or 2004.
The SBS Open at Turtle Bay marked the Tour’s return to Hawaii in 2005, with Jennifer Rosales picking up the victory, and that event enjoyed a five-year run before dropping away in 2010. The Fields Open gave the LPGA another Hawaiian event from 2006-08, and 2008 was a banner year for the Tour in the Aloha State.
Three Hawaiian events helped make up the LPGA’s 2008 Tour schedule, with Sorenstam winning the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, Paula Creamer taking the Fields Open and Morgan Pressel capping things with a win at the Kapalua LPGA Classic.
All totaled, the LPGA has conducted 41 official and three unofficial events in Hawaii through the years, and it has been a heck of a history. King (1988-89) and Lisa Walters (1992-93) are the only players to win Hawaiian events in consecutive years, while Daniel is the only player to win more than one event in the islands in the same year (1990).
Deb Richard (1991) and Dawn Coe-Jones (1992) both won an official event and the unofficial match play tournament in the state in the same year. King’s four Hawaiian victories is tops among Tour players, while Sorenstam is second with three.
And who can forget Michelle Wie’s emotional breakthrough a year ago? LPGA fans could be in for more drama this weekend as events unfold on Friday and Saturday.
In a few days, another Tour player will add to the LPGA’s legacy in the tropical dreamland, and Hawaii is sure to be a regular on the annual schedule for the foreseeable future. After all, everyone dreams of a little time in paradise.
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