Tag: Mission Hills

With the Chevron Championship at its new venue, how will Dinah Shore’s legacy continue in Texas?

The hospitality area around the 18th green will be named “Dinah’s Place” and Shore’s family has been invited.

Every time Pat Bradley walked by the statue of Dinah Shore next to the 18th green at Mission Hills Country Club, she’d climb up on the little base and put her hand on Dinah’s arm and have a chat. Longtime Desert Sun golf writer Larry Bohannan recalled the scene as he considered the question: How should Shore’s legacy continue in Texas?

Bradley, like so many LPGA greats, was friends with Shore. The Hollywood superstar made such a tremendous impact on the tour in the 1970s and ’80s that they put her in the LPGA Hall of Fame as the only non-playing member.

But as the 52nd Chevron Championship, still known by many as “The Dinah,” leaves the Dinah Shore Tournament Course and heads to The Woodlands near Houston this week, it’s natural to wonder how Shore will fit in.

“You can’t create that,” said Bohannan of Bradley’s ritual, “that has to be something that’s organic.”

Shore died in 1994, before nine of the top 10 players in the world were even born. Jane Blalock, the tournament’s first champion in 1972, said Shore could be compared to a modern-day Oprah in terms of her popularity and reach.

Another burning question before this year’s Chevron: Will the champion’s leap, the most significant tradition (one might argue the LPGA’s only noteworthy tradition), carry on?

Tournament organizers told Golfweek there’s no expectation that a player will jump into the lake on the 18th next month at the Nicklaus Course at The Club at Carlton Woods, but should the mood strike, the championship team is making sure it will be safe.

An area of the lake at the 18th green is being dredged and netted to make sure it’s deep enough for a player and her caddie and family to take the plunge. The traditional robe and slippers will also be on standby, if needed.

“Whoever wins this year needs to jump in and keep it going,” said Brittany Lincicome, a two-time champion at Mission Hills.

The hospitality area around the 18th green at the Nicklaus course at Carlton Woods will be named “Dinah’s Place” and Shore’s family has been invited to attend.

Shore’s name will also live on in the generosity of the Chevron Dinah Shore Scholarships, given to high school seniors who are pursuing a college education but not playing collegiate golf. Nominees must have a passion for women’s golf and desire to help grow the game.

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There will once again be a Champions Dinner with Thomas Keller, chef and proprietor of The French Laundry, creating a special menu to honor 2022 champion Jennifer Kupcho. The tournament will also bring back a Junior Legacy Pro-Am, designed to link up legends of the game with bright young stars.

The Champions Wall will be, for now, a temporary structure that will celebrate the 51 years of history that took place at Mission Hills.

Sandra Palmer, an honorary member at Mission Hills who won 19 times on the LPGA, including the Colgate Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle before it was a major, feels the championship needs to find a new identity in her native Texas.

There was talk at last year’s Chevron about the LPGA Legends staging an event in the Coachella Valley this spring. There was even a news conference about it Sunday morning before Kupcho won.

Two weeks later, the PGA Tour Champions announced that the new Galleri Classic would be held March 24-26 at Mission Hills. Fred Couples, Steve Stricker, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer and David Duval are among those who have committed to the field.

So far, nothing has been announced in the area for senior women.

Patty Sheehan, who won at Mission Hills in 1996 and lives there now part-time behind the 14th tee on the Dinah Shore Course, signed up to volunteer at the Galleri Classic. She was given three choices: walking scorer, work the range, help out in the caddie tent.

Sheehan, who hasn’t yet decided which job she’ll take, reported that the greens are hard and fast on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course but the rough isn’t up. They’ve added a couple new tees and trimmed the eucalyptus trees to open it up more.

“They’re trying to clean up Poppie’s Pond,” she said, “in case one of them tries to jump.”

Sheehan said she’s trying to “go down the positive road” about how things have turned out.

2019 ANA Inspiration
Jin Young Ko, caddie David Brooker and agent Soo Jin Choi leap into Poppie’s Pond next to the 18th green at Mission Hills Country Club after the 2019 ANA Inspiration on the Dinah Shore course in Rancho Mirage, California (Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Judy Rankin, who like Palmer and Blalock won the Dinah before it was a major, is doing the same. Rankin was part of the deep history of the LPGA at Mission Hills for five decades, right up to the final putt last year in the broadcast booth. She too would like to see the Chevron begin its own kind of history in her home state of Texas, noting that it’s probably right not to see a lot of Dinah this year, but that it’s never right to forget her.

“I think it’s part of growing old gracefully,” she said of adapting to change. “Be glad you had it, celebrate on a rare occasion, and let the new be new.”

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Football Rewind: Anthony McMillan Jr. spins out of a tackle on this epic catch-and-run touchdown

Watch: Mater Dei Catholic (Calif.) Junior running back Anthony McMillan Jr. spins out of a tackle on an epic catch-and-run touchdown.

Mater Dei Catholic (Calif.) upset Mission Hills (Calif.) this past weekend 34-29 in the San Diego Sectional Championships.

One of the big turning points came in the third quarter when Junior running back Anthony McMillan Jr. spun out of a tackle at the 40-yard line, then kept going and finished with a wild touchdown to make it a one-score game.

Watch the replay from our friends at the NFHS Network.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClmkjRJM1IS/

McMillan (6-foot-0, 215 pounds) is ranked No. 48 among all running backs in the class of 2024. So far he has four offers from college programs: Arizona, Colorado, Colorado State and Utah State.

More high school football highlights

QB sneak somehow turns into a 99-yard touchdown

Crazy broken hook & ladder play ends Georgia playoff game

Massive course owner and operator ClubCorp announces company rebrand to Invited

“Invited is not just a name. It’s everything we are,” said Invited CEO David Pillsbury.

What’s in a name? ClubCorp thinks plenty.

Officials with the 65-year-old privately held lifestyle and hospitality company Friday announced a rebrand rolling out in the coming months with the name and fundamental belief that everyone is “Invited.”

The Dallas-based company includes a portfolio of 161 owned and operated golf and country clubs featuring 205 golf courses and more than 1,000 tennis and pickleball courts nationwide; 32 city and sports clubs; seven stadium clubs inside prominent college football stadiums; and six Big Shots locations around the country delivering a tech-driven entertainment and culinary experience.

“Invited is not just a name. It’s everything we are,” Invited CEO David Pillsbury said in a press release. “We are Invited because, from the golf courses to the tennis courts, from fine dining to family hang time, we connect and create communities attracting members from diverse backgrounds that share similar passions and pursuits. We create clubs and experiences that combine exceptional amenities and unmatched service with a friendly and welcoming spirit. We want our members, guests and team members to know that Invited is where they belong.”

Mission Hills Country Club
Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. (Courtesy of ClubCorp)

It’s an interesting move as the name ClubCorp held plenty of brand equity as the largest owner and operator of private golf and country clubs in the country, generically describing the business the company is in but failing to reflect the spirit of who company officials said they are and where they believe can go. The new name and brand speak to creating places where people are warmly welcomed and encouraged to enjoy each other’s company, and fit the modern, inclusive vision on display in the numerous programs that ClubCorp has instituted focused on bringing more women, girls and minorities to their clubs and into the game. These programs reflect this brand shift, the company said.

“Our clubs are the ultimate third place and play an integral role in the lives of our members. We are the place where they play, celebrate and build lifelong friendships,” Pillsbury said. “Invited, as a brand identity, reflects that connection and emotion of who we are, our dedication to our clubs and members and where we are headed as a company. We relearned the value of human connection during the pandemic and this new identity of an open invitation that brings people together and reflects those connections.”

The Dallas Morning News reported that the rebranding comes as the company’s owner, Apollo Global Management, is reportedly eyeing a deal to take the company public again as early as this year. Apollo paid a 31-percent premium (around $1.1 billion for the company) on then-ClubCorp’s stock price in 2017 to take the company private. Insiders estimate it could now be valued at about $4.5 billion in an IPO.

The Woodlands Country Club
The Woodlands Country Club in The Woodlands, Texas (Courtesy of Invited)

The rebranding announcement was made as the ClubCorp Classic, a new event on PGA Tour Champions, gets underway Friday near Dallas, and the new name will be trumpeted there this weekend. The tournament will be renamed the Invited Celebrity Classic next year.

This woman creates thousands of flower ribbons and has passed them out at the Dinah Shore for 23 years

In the course of the four days here, she will give 1,000 of the flower ribbons away.

There are several styles of smiles.

The full grin of the Cheshire Cat, the muted purse of the Mona Lisa, or the missing-toothed version favored by toddlers.

For the last 23 years at the desert’s LPGA event the Chevron Championship, Judi Callaway has seen them all.

Callaway, an 80-year-old from San Diego, has been a mainstay in her lawn chair in the shade of a giant eucalyptus tree in front of the 18th green at Mission Hills Country Club. As players and spectators walk by, she offers them a flower made out of ribbon that she made by hand.

“People always try to give me a donation, but I’m not doing it for money, I’m doing it for smiles,” she said Thursday, the first day of the tournament in Rancho Mirage. “That’s why I call them smile flowers.”

And the flowers work. Sit with Judi for any length of time and you’ll see her hand out her corsage-like, colorful handiwork, and the recipient always walks away with a grin.

Callaway said she starts making the smile flowers in February each year, and it takes her three-and-a half hours to make a box of 25 ribbon blossoms. By the time the tournament starts a month later, she has made 1,000. And in the course of the four days here, she will give them all away.

More: ‘Treating us like we were somebody’: Money, television and Dinah Shore helped jumpstart the LPGA

“It’s just ribbon, wire and flower tape, and then I include a pin, of course, so they can attach it to their hat or their shirt or whatever,” Callaway said. “At this point, a lot of the players know me and when they see me they come over and they know what they’re getting.”

She’s not wrong. She’s outfitted some of the biggest names in LPGA circles from Hall of Famers to current stars. She said Juli Inkster and Christina Kim have been some of her favorites over the years.

For Kim, the feeling is mutual.

“It’s just part of coming here for me. It’s just one of the annual traditions I have. I see Judi, I give her a hug and see how she’s doing and how her husband is doing,” Kim said after her round Friday. “Catching up is our annual tradition, which is a very sad thing to be ending.”

Kim said, for the record, that she has at least a dozen flower ribbons at home and about 10 of another of Judi’s creations, wine-bottle aprons. Those are little aprons that fit your wine bottle that Judi created and worked on during the pandemic.

Lexi Thompson, the 2014 champion here, said Judi is as much a fabric of this tournament to her as the San Jacinto Mountains and the Dinah Shore statue.

“Ever since I was here when I was 14, I remember her being here,” the 27-year-old Thompson said Thursday. “She’s an amazing lady, and I think all of us look forward to seeing her coming up to the 18th green.”

Judi Callaway poses for a photo with her flowers made of ribbon from alongside the 18th green at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Thursday, March 31, 2022.

Origin story

Judi’s neighbor in the 1970s as well as Tony Orlando and Dawn are all partly responsible for the boxes of ribbon flowers that Judi carts out to the 18th hole every year.

“Over 40 years ago, I had a very sweet neighbor that took the time and taught me how to make them,” Judi said. “Since then, I’ve made them for weddings, birthdays, you name it, but when I got real serious about making them had to do with the military service.”

Both of Callaway’s sons were in the Army and when the song by Orlando and Dawn “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” became a hit, Judi got a bright idea.

Callaway started making red, white and blue ones with a yellow ribbon flower in the middle. She said those were quite popular with her family and friends, and she’s been making them ever since. She shares them with people at work, people in her neighborhood and then when she and Don began volunteering at the golf tournament in the desert in 1998, she decided to bring some.

Callaway has always been handy with her hands. She’s had many jobs throughout her career. She was a janitor, she cut keys and made trophies and she’s proud to say she was one of the first volunteer firewomen in North Carolina.

“My husband was in the military and four of them were volunteers and when they went off to war that left the station empty, so the four of us women stepped in,” she said. “We had boots, coats, helmets everything. We had to battle some fires, too.”

Flower forms made of ribbon are seen made by Judi Callaway to give out to players and spectators at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Thursday, March 31, 2022.

Happy couple

Judi is accompanied every year by her husband Don. The 85-year-old former military man also volunteers at the tournament, and he works behind the green on the 18th hole.

“He always likes to keep an eye on me,” she said with a laugh.

The couple make a week of it and stay at a favorite small motel of theirs that she said is on the Cathedral City/Palm Springs border.

Unfortunately for people like Judi and Don and other volunteers who consider working at the desert’s LPGA tournament a cherished part of their year, this will be the final installment. The tournament is moving to Houston next year.

“I’m very sad about it. We love it out here. It’s beautiful out here, and that’s not to say it isn’t beautiful where we live, too, but this is special. It’s a special getaway for us,” she said.

Judi said that’s not going to stop her, though. She plans to give out her smile flowers at an LPGA tournament in Carlsbad instead.

“Especially after these last couple years, I think people need fun things like this,” she said. “I know they aren’t a necessity, but to make people smile, to me, that is a necessity.”

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

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Chevron Championship: Patty Tavatanakit continues quest for consecutive wins and date with history

Only two players have won the Chevron title in consecutive years.

Anyone who watched Patty Tavatanakit dominate the field at the Chevron Championship in winning the 2021 major championship can’t be surprised that Tavatanakit is looking for back-to-back wins in the event this year.

A pair of late birdies Friday pushed Tavatanakit to 8-under 136 after 36 holes on the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club. That puts Tavatanakit, the reigning LPGA rookie of the year, just one shot behind leader Hinako Shibuno after the morning wave of players in the second round.

Only two players, Sandra Post in 1978-79 and Annika Sorenstam in 2001-02, have won the Chevron title in consecutive years.

Shibuno, the 2019 AIG Women’s Open winner, shot one of the best rounds of the morning, a 6-under 66 that included seven birdies. Shibuno is at 9 under, and like Tavatanakit, she is seeking her second major title.

Tavatanakit is tied at 8 under with Annie Park, who for the second day in a row played without a partner. Park shot a 67 on Friday.

A group of players is tied at 6 under for the tournament, including overnight leaders Minjee Lee and Jennifer Kupcho, who have afternoon tee times.

Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand reacts after a birdie on the 17th hole during the second round of The Chevron Championship at The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa on April 01, 2022, in Rancho Mirage, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Tavantanakit said she left too many shots on the course Friday, but was happy with the two closing birdies

“I think 17 was definitely a bonus,” Tavatanakit said of the 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3. “That pin position (tight to the left side of the green) was just taking it one shot at a time, and it ended up being a great shot.”

Knowing the tee is up on the 485-yard par-5 18th hole, Tavatanakit was again able to reach the island green in two shots but missed the putting surface to the left. She hit a delicate chip shot to within three feet and made the birdie putt in front of applauding fans who were not at the tournament last year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“I remember being here as an amateur and making birdie on that hole (the 18th) is always a cheery feeling,” Tavatanakit said.

Park playing well

Annie Park, the 26-year old from New York who attended USC, was the first player out on the course Friday, and she played by herself as the odd woman out in the 115-player field. She took advantage of the solitude by firing a 5-under 67 to move her to 8 under for the tournament.

Annie Park tees off on the 9th hole during the second round of the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 1, 2022.

Park being in contention could be considered a bit of a surprise. This is Park’s 23rd major championship, and she’s never finished inside the top 15. Her best finish in this event is a tie for 56th.

“Just overall it was a great day and I feel pretty — a lot better about my long game. Been putting a lot better. Made some really good putts out there. Did leave some out there, but overall I’m stroking it pretty solid,” said Park, who’s just plain having fun on the course this week. “Yeah, it’s nice. I think the fans are very supportive. So nice to see just fans out there again, always supporting, Hey, go Annie, fight on.”

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LPGA: Talented Thai teen Atthaya Thitikul turns win last week into major opportunity at Chevron Championship

The 19-year-old rising LPGA star from Thailand won last week’s tour event in Carlsbad.

For most of us, when our travel plans get changed at the last second, it’s a bummer. Not so for Atthaya Thitikul.

The 19-year-old rising LPGA star from Thailand won last week’s tour event in Carlsbad, and that victory qualified her to play in this week’s Chevron Championship in Rancho Mirage. Needless to say, she adjusted her plans.

Just three days after her first LPGA Tour win, she will be playing in her first major as an LPGA Tour member.

“It means the world to me to be out here and winning last week and I’m excited to play this week,” Thitikul said Wednesday after playing in the pro-am. “If I wasn’t here, I probably would’ve gone home or somewhere to stay focused on my game. This is better.”

When Thitikul tees it up Thursday, it will be her first time playing the Dinah Shore Tournament Course as a pro, but it won’t be the first time she played in this event. She played here in 2018 as an amateur, made the cut and finished in a tie for 30th. She was the top amateur that year.

She finished 5-under in 2018, tied with the likes of Michelle Wie, Cristie Kerr and In Gee Chun. Not bad for a 15-year-old.

Does that mean that this course suits her game?

Atthaya Thitikul reacts on the final hole on the last day of the Honda LPGA Thailand at the Siam Country Club in Pattaya on May 9, 2021. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images)

“No, I think not very much,” she said matter-of-factly. “For me, and just like for all the players, if you can keep your ball in the fairway, it will be much easier.”

Thitikul said she doesn’t feel like the confidence and glow she gained by winning last week will necessarily translate to this week.

“You can’t expect anything with golf,” she said, showing the wisdom of a veteran. “That was last week not today. I don’t want to just have winning always on my back, like ‘Oh yeah just won that tournament, you should do good in this tournament too.’ It doesn’t mean that. It depends on your week, depends on the course.”

Having just turned 19 on Feb. 20, if she were to make it two in a row and win this week, she would be the third-youngest player ever to win this event.

Morgan Pressel in 2007 and Lydia Ko in 2016 both won as 18-year-olds. Lexi Thompson was 19 years, one month and 27 days old when she won here in 2014. Thitikul would be a couple weeks younger than that on Sunday.

Thitikul has another unique distinction relating to her success at a young age. She is the youngest golfer ever to win a professional golf tournament. At age 14 years, 4 months and 19 days, she won the Ladies European Thailand Championship as an amateur in 2017. It was that victory that enabled her to play here in Rancho Mirage in 2018.

A victory in the desert on Sunday would replace all of those accomplishments and become her new shining moment. She admitted that she has dreamt of jumping in Poppie’s Pond, and with the tournament moving to Houston after this year, she knows this will be the last opportunity for her to be able to do that.

There is one problem though.

“The other players have this dream, too,” she said with a laugh.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Palm Springs Desert Sun, part of the USA Today Network. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

Watch her play

Who: Atthaya Thitikul, 19-year-old from Thailand who won last week’s LPGA event.
Playing partner: Inbee Park, the 2013 champion here
Thursday tee time: 12:47 p.m. off the 10th tee
Friday tee time: 7:47 a.m. off the 1st tee

Four Notre Dame commits to play in Polynesian Bowl

Want to watch the future of the football program?

Want to catch a glimpse at some of the Notre Dame stars of tomorrow? Was the All-American Bowl not enough for you? You’re in luck if you’re able to stay up late. The Polynesian Bowl will be played at 11:30 p.m. EST Saturday on the CBS Sports Network, and four recruits who have committed to Notre Dame are on the roster.

The four players to look out for are as follows:

  • Receiver Tobias Merriweather of Camas, Washington
  • Tight end Holden Staes of Atlanta
  • Linebacker Niuafe Tuihalamaka of Mission Hills, California
  • Offensive tackle Aamil Wagner of Dayton, Ohio

Notre Dame commits who previously have played in this game include Chris Tyree, Marist Liufau, Jayson Ademilola, Braden Lenzy and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa. While making this game obviously is not a reflection of how they’ll play in college, it does make people excited about what the future of the program could be. If you’re curious about that or you simply want to watch more football, this is the game to tune into.

Past players, officials see ‘Dinah Shore’ move as bad for California, good for LPGA

The tournament has been played since 1972 at the same course in Rancho Mirage at Mission Hills Country Club.

With the exception of Dinah Shore herself, no person is as identified with the desert’s LPGA golf tournament as Hall of Fame player Amy Alcott. The news that the major championship now known as the Chevron Championship will leave the desert after 2022 had Alcott looking at the past as well as the future.

“In some ways, it will be mourning a loss, but in other ways having a sponsor like Chevron who has really been committed will be great,” said Alcott, who won the major championship three times and started the tradition of the winner jumping into the lake at Mission Hills Country Club after her 1988 victory.

Sadness for the Coachella Valley but an understanding that the tournament might be bigger and better in a new location and with sponsorship from Chevron seemed to be the overwhelming reaction to Tuesday’s announcement that the tournament once hosted by Dinah Shore will relocate to Houston in 2023.

“I have a deep love for the event, “said Gabe Codding, the director of marketing for the City of Rancho Mirage who starting working seasonally at the LPGA event in 1996 and worked up to tournament director from 2008 to 2017. “So to see, to know that the event can go to where it started from (in status) and get back to where it needed to be is an incredible feeling. And then absolutely gutted that it is leaving our destination and Poppie’s Pond and Mission Hills. So it’s very conflicting and very hard to process for me personally.”

While he was tournament director, Codding helped with the sponsorship transition from Nabisco to Kraft and then from Kraft to All Nippon Airways. He said the event coordinator side of him understands the need for the LPGA to move the event.

“It’s a North American, U.S. based company,” Codding said of Chevron. “It’s a dream come true.”

Marilyn Chung, The Desert Sun

More: A long, slow goodbye for an LPGA major whose time might simply have run out

More: End of an Era: LPGA major championship, once the Dinah Shore, will leave Coachella Valley after 2022

Nicole Castrale has two connections with the Rancho Mirage tournament. She first saw the event when she was 15 years old and a top golfer at Palm Desert High School, with her coach and local golf professional Vern Frazer telling her this tournament was what they were working for. Castrale did make it to the LPGA and played in the major championship eight times starting in 2007.

“That was my goal, playing in it, especially it being in my hometown, being that young,” Castrale said Tuesday while on a trip to Greece. “Seeing Juli Inkster, she was a role model to me, and now we are friends. So all through high school and college, I wanted to play in the event in my backyard.”

Castrale was a winner on the LPGA and played on two Solheim Cup teams, but she never won a major before back issues forced her off the tour. She sees the move of the tournament as both good and bad for the LPGA.

“It is a tough spot, because there are the players who are going to be saddened with history coming to an end, but on the flip side, this is their job, and in a small way this is a little promotion,” said Castrale, who now works in real estate at Toscana Country Club in Indian Wells. “They have a sponsor who appears to be completely backing them and giving them the opportunity that they may not have if they couldn’t find another sponsor.”

Introducing Castrale and every other player on the first tee of the Dinah Shore Tournament Course for the last 22 years has been desert radio personality Rich Gilgallon, who was surprised by the news Tuesday.

“I’m devastated for the community and for the club, and I’m personally devastated,” Gilgallon said.

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Gilgallon said he has become friends on the first tee with many players, from Joanne Carner in his first year to Pat Bradley, who shares a New England background with Gillgallon, to Annika Sorenstam, who always wanted to know what was on the card Gilgallon was about to read introducing her.

“I count it as one of the great blessings of my life, really,” he said.

He added that the tournament has still been about original hostess Dinah Shore in recent years.

“I realize it wasn’t called the Dinah Shore, but it was played on Dinah Shore Avenue on the Dinah Shore Course,” he said. “I am sad for that as well, that the legacy didn’t weigh a little more heavily with the sponsor.”

Alcott said the idea that a multibillion dollar company like Chevron sponsoring an LPGA event shows how the LPGA has changed in recent years.

“I remember hearing the adage that women’s golf is sold, and men’s golf is bought,” Alcott said. “And now I think we are getting into a place where women’s golf, because it is exciting, it is global, women’s golf is being bought. People are seeing the value of it.”

As a member at Mission Hills, Alcott said she still senses support for the event locally.

“I sense the members really do want it. Everything changes, but I do sense the members do want it,” Alcott said. “I see the condition of the course, it is in really good shape during the event. I haven’t noticed a change. I have noticed the continued enthusiasm for the event.

“So I think that would be very hard for some people and maybe there will be members who will say great, it’s great to have our course back in April,” she added. “It will run the gambit.”

The financial woes of All Nippon Airways also were a contributing factor in the tournament moving after next year, Codding said. As an international airline, ANA has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and has seen revenues dry up.

“You look at poor ANA with a global pandemic. When we were in negotiation for their second renewal of the contract (a three-year extension through 2022), that was the one thing they were worried about, something semi-catastrophic that just deeply impacts their business and having that much liability, long-term liability,” Codding said.

Castrale said it will be difficult to consider the Chevron Championship as the logical extension of what was once the Colgate Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle.

“The major that we have known and the major that I strived to play in when I was 15 and wanted to have the opportunity to play in, that goal of mine, is not the same,” Castrale said. “But Chevron has now created an opportunity for the next generation to create new memories.”

Larry Bohannan is The Desert Sun golf writer, he can be reached at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com or (760) 778-4633. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_Bohannan. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Desert Sun.

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Nichols: It’s sad to see the LPGA leave Mission Hills, but here’s why it’s ultimately a good thing

It’s time to look toward the future.

When is it worth sacrificing tradition for progress?

That’s the question many are grappling with after news broke that the old “Dinah Shore” event will be getting an extreme makeover. With Chevron in as the new title sponsor, the event will be moving away from Mission Hills and Poppie’s Pond and the traditional pre-Masters date beginning in 2023.

The new Chevron Championship purse will increase by 60 percent in 2022 to $5 million, putting it in line with the rest of the LPGA’s majors. The ANA Inspiration’s 2021 purse of $3.1 million is only $100,000 more than this week’s Cognizant Founders Cup.

Is the money worth it?

In short: Yes.

Because it’s not just about the money. The move to a later date in the spring guarantees network television coverage, which should be at the top of the priority list for all big events on the LPGA’s calendar. Does tradition really matter if not enough people see it?

There were a number of hurdles in moving the event’s dates away from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and keeping it at Mission Hills, including the club’s flexibility, Coachella, desert heat, a dwindling volunteer base and the need for a week with an available 28 hours of live television.

LPGA commissioner Mike Whan was asked about the future of the ANA, which had one year left on its contract, during a press conference at this year’s event.

“You hate to lose tradition,” said Whan, “but as I always tell people, respect history, love history, don’t be afraid to make a little along the way. If you can make a new history that’s better, have at it, but this one to be tough to achieve that, I’ll be the first to admit.”

Mission Hills Country Club
Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, home of the ANA Inspiration. (Photo: Beth Ann Nichols/Golfweek)

Before anyone gives too much credit – good or bad – to new commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, this move was in the works well before the former Princeton athletic director got to her post.

And rumors of the event moving out of Rancho Mirage, California, have been swirling for a long time. Those who have been on the ground at Mission Hills for years can attest to the fact that the event had lost some of its buzz, even before Augusta National stole so much of the spotlight.

For many, there’s a deep emotional attachment to Mission Hills. It’s the kind of place that fills the soul just stepping on property. A bucket-list event for  fans and a favorite among the players.

It’s going to be sad to leave. And yes, it’s gut-wrenching to walk away from 50 years of tradition.

Which is why it’s so important that everyone gets one last hurrah in the desert. One final leap into Poppie’s Pond. Wouldn’t it be special if past champions like Lorena Ochoa, Karrie Webb, Juli Inkster and Annika Sorenstam came back to play? Like the Masters, former champions have a place in the field. At the very least an exhibition seems in order.

Before the pandemic, there was an annual champions dinner early in the week. No doubt that will return in 2022.

What traditions carry on beyond Mission Hills depends in part on which course they go to. Is there already a pond on the 18th and room for a small pool? (Serious question!) Perhaps that statue of Dinah should be replicated.

It’s important to remember that the LPGA is only as good as its majors.

On Mike Whan’s second day on the job as LPGA commissioner, he traveled to the desert to meet with officials from Kraft. They walked the back nine at the Dinah Shore course and had lunch overlooking the 18th green. While walking out to his car, Whan got the news that Kraft was out after three more years. His first meeting with a sponsor was, in fact, a goodbye.

“The British Open was going through a pretty difficult time in terms of sponsor renewal,” said Whan in recalling the story. “I remember thinking at the time I might be in the job a year, and we’ll be down to one major.”

While many referred to the Dinah Shore as the LPGA’s Masters because it stayed in one place, held great traditions and had white caddie jumpsuits, the fact that Whan considered signing ANA to be his greatest day on the job as commissioner says it all: There were no guarantees.

It’s a new era for the majors, of course, thanks to the backing of the R&A and the PGA of America – and a renewed zest from the USGA – major championship purses are growing and venues are vastly improving.

Speaking of venues, there’s no doubt that the new course that’s chosen for The Chevron needs to be a home run. Players must view it as a major-caliber test, a place they look forward to coming to each year. All the bells and whistles in the world can’t make up for a mediocre golf course.

But just think about “The Chevron” for a minute. It’s a title that has gravitas. It’s a brand everyone in America is familiar with, not to mention around the world. (After seven years of title sponsorship, people still refer to the ANA as “The Anna.”)

View of the 18th green on Wednesday at the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Hopefully it’s the kind of blue-chip sponsor that makes other Fortune 100 companies look to the LPGA as a potential partner.

Because that’s what this is really about – progress. The greatest tradition of the LPGA – more than leaps and robes and celebrities ­– is that it weathers storms and comes out stronger.

Chevron has the deep pockets, commitment and vision that it takes to build on what David Foster and Dinah Shore started more than 50 years ago.

It’s time to look toward the future.

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ANA Inspiration battle the elements as wildfire smoke, extreme heat blanket Mission Hills

The heat isn’t the only concern at this week’s ANA Inspiration. Smoke from California wildfires could put players in carts too.

Austin Ernst and her brother Drew aim to take full advantage of the LPGA’s new cart rule at the ANA Inspiration. With 100-plus degree temperatures forecasted in Rancho Mirage, California, throughout the week, Ernst plans to pack a cooler with snacks and Gatorade for the back of the cart. She’ll also keep a wet towel around her neck and walk with a sun umbrella. If Austin wants to talk to her brother, she’ll tell him to drive slowly down the fairway beside her.

With the LPGA major shifting from the spring to September due to COVID-19, the tour decided to allow caddies to use electric carts or push carts at Mission Hills Country Club’s Dinah Shore Tournament Course for safety reasons.

“I just thought, there’s really no reason not to take advantage of it,” said Austin, recent winner of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

The heat isn’t the only concern. Smoke from California wildfires could put players in carts too.

“We’re continuing to monitor both the AQI (Air Qualify Index) and the temperature very closely,” said Chief Tour Operations Officer Heather Daly-Donofrio. “While we’re not out there yet, if it becomes clear from our medical team, and we’re also going to be working with the medical team at Eisenhower Medical, who’s a partner this week at the ANA Inspiration, if the high temperatures and the AQI converge to a point where we feel that’s unhealthy for walking … we have not ruled out carts for players on tournament days.”

Burning eyes and a scratchy throat impacted past champion Stacy Lewis early week at Mission Hills.

“For me, the smoke itself has been more of an issue than the heat,” she said.

Right now, Thursday’s forecasted high is the lowest of the four rounds at 100 degrees. Saturday and Sunday temps are expected to reach 110 and 113 degrees, respectively.

Danielle Kang, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 2, said that her caddie will not take a cart. Several longtime caddies told Golfweek the same, saying that it disrupted their routine and created more hassle than it was worth.

On Monday, the hottest day of the week in Rancho, Mirage, Anne van Dam tweeted out a TrackMan update: Her iPad overheated after two minutes, and her iPhone lasted eight minutes.

Lydia Ko calls Orlando, Florida, home when she’s not on the road and likens summers there to a complimentary sauna. The dry heat of the desert is different, of course, and she found the initial forecast “kind of frightening.”

“It’s (so) hot that you touch like the door handle of your car,” said Ko, “and it’s kind of on the slight sizzling point.”

Now that she has spent a few days in the desert heat, Ko said that she actually prefers the extreme temps to what she left in Orlando. Nelly Korda, a Florida native, said the same, a mentality that should serve both players well.

It does take work to beat the heat though, and Korda credited a massive headache on Monday to dehydration.

“I actually have a really hard time drinking,” said Korda. “Like I do not drink on the golf course. That’s something that I’ve always done, and I told (my caddie) yesterday on the first hole, I was like, you need to remind me to drink a lot.”

Pernilla Lindberg, winner of the 2018 ANA, gave her husband/caddie a carry bag for the week to lighten his load. She’ll rely on the water coolers on each tee box and take a pass on the cart.

After spending most of the off week resting in Utah, Lindberg headed to Rancho Mirage on Saturday afternoon when it was 120 degrees. Shorter practice days, more electrolytes and a bottle of water by her bed to start the day are keys to the week.

The San Jacinto Mountains typically provide a stunning backdrop for Mission Hills. It was a weird feeling on Tuesday, Lindberg said, when they disappeared behind thick clouds of smoke. Blue skies returned the next day, however, bringing hope for better days ahead.

“We’re watching the levels very closely,” said Daly-Donofrio, “but with the AQI you really can’t forecast out too far.”