THE WOODLANDS — Hosting a significant golf tournament is special. There’s a different vibe entirely surrounding one of the LPGA’s majors, and that is what is coming to the Houston area in the spring of 2023.
In less than eight months, the Chevron Championship, the first of five majors played annually on the LPGA Tour, will be contested April 20-23, 2023, at The Club at Carlton Woods on its Jack Nicklaus Signature Course.
“This is a significant moment for us,” said Steve Salzman, COO of The Club at Carlton Woods. “We want a major, and we want to be involved in women’s golf. This is going to be the best championship in golf. It’s going to determine a worthy champion.”
The 2023 Chevron Championship will end a 50-year run of the ANA Inspiration on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Chevron Corporation agreed to be title sponsor in 2021, with the intent of bringing the tournament to the Houston area starting in 2023. The purse was increased by 60 percent in 2022, up to $5 million. Next year’s tournament will have a purse of $5.1 million.
A new later date on the schedule means the tournament won’t compete with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and ensures network coverage for the first time. It’s also a week before the PGA Tour Champions Insperity Invitational, set for April 28-30 at The Woodlands Country Club.
“(The players) want the best golf courses,” said LPGA Tour commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, visiting Carlton Woods for the first time Monday. “They want courses to match their talent.
“We want a golf course with world-class facilities. We set out to find the best golf course in the area, and Carlton Woods is excited about this opportunity and wants us here. This became the perfect fit.”
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Carlton Woods was selected among 11 Houston-area courses considered for hosting such a huge event.
Samaan, along with Salzman, as well as LPGA champion and television analyst Morgan Pressel, were part of a panel during Monday’s partners and media day. Also on hand were Al Williams, Chevron vice president of corporate affairs, who said, “It’s about inspiring, creating greater access, and advancing women’s excellence — on and off the course.
“One of the reasons I came here today was to see the amazing facilities,” said Pressel, who in 2007 won this event, commonly referred to as the Dinah Shore. “Not only to support the event and the future of the event (but) to see Carlton Woods.
“This is an exciting time for this historic championship as we move forward into a new era. When the players arrive in April, they will feel the major thrill.”
Chevron, the title sponsor, is contracted with tournament coordinator IMG to handle the setup and logistics, as well as work closely with the LPGA to ensure it’s a world-class event for spectators, players and sponsors. The tournament will be televised by NBC Sports.
“We want to showcase our athletes,” Samaan said. “They’re the best in the world. How often do you get the best in the world in one place? We need the world to see that. The network television (window) was available.
“And we wanted to find a community where Chevron could execute how they could use the game and the LPGA (as) a platform for change. For showing the empowerment of women, the success of women.”
Carlton Woods was quickly on board for being the site of the tournament, which is contracted for a 10-year agreement with a five-year option clause involving all parties.
“Texas in general, Houston and The Woodlands is a great golf destination,” Salzman said.
The Woodlands township, the Carlton Woods community, as well as the club, wanted to host this event, concluding a seven-year march after membership purchased the club. The economic development partnership stepped up to lay out plans for parking, logistics, security, transportation and shuttling support, as well as hotel-room blocking.
There’s still a great deal of work that needs to be done as far as specifics, but Salzman said he is confident all the necessary components are in place and hopes to exceed expectations of first-year events.
The Nicklaus Course will quickly identify a golfer with a crack in her game, as well as the best competitive player that week.
On an approach-shot golf course, driving the ball well is critical. Hole No. 5 is the most difficult from the tee, with holes 10 and 15 placing a premium on placement from the tee box.
The LPGA golfers will practice at a recently renovated practice facility. Tee grounds have increased to about three acres, doubling the size.
Two separate short-game areas have been rebuilt. There’s a new putting green, and a second putting green is scheduled to be completed after next year’s tournament as part of the Nicklaus full-course renovation prior to the 2024 tournament.
Opened in 2001, the Nicklaus Course will have a different look for the 2024 Chevron Championship. Renovation is scheduled to begin May 10, 2023, and completion is expected in mid-October of next year. That leaves around a five-month window to get the course groomed and conditioned for the 2024 Chevron Championship.
Irrigation systems have changed, as well as turf and product technology, over the past 20 years. The Nicklaus Course was built when block irrigation and California-style greens were prevalent. In the renovation, a new irrigation system will be put in, and turf will be reestablished on the fairways. The greens will be put back to their original height and slope, meeting USGA specifications.
Also scheduled is a complete bunker renovation, a leveling of tees, and expanding some of the hitting areas on the par 3s.
A late April date should be ideal for the Chevron Championship. Carlton Woods hosts its member-guest tournament annually in the middle of the month. A visit from the LPGA Tour agronomy staff is scheduled in mid-September, and leading up to the event, from January to April, the staff will make visits.