2023 LOTTE Championship Returns to Hoakalei Country Club
EWA BEACH, Oahu, Hawaii (March 2023) – After celebrating it’s 10th anniversary of title sponsorship of the LOTTE Championship in 2022, LOTTE is looking forward to welcoming the world’s top ladies professional golfers back to Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii next month. The LPGA tournament will return to Hoakalei Country Club, Wednesday through Saturday, April 12-15 and will feature a field of 144 players competing for a $2 million purse, with $300,000 awarded to the winner.
During Saturday’s final round at the 2022 LOTTE Championship, Hyo Joo Kim started the day with a three-stroke advantage, bogeyed the par-3 17th to drop her lead to just one. Kim executed a superb pitch from off the green at No. 18 at Hoakalei Country Club, leaving herself a 2-foot birdie putt to win by two strokes over Hinako Shibuno of Japan.
Kim’s win at the 2022 LOTTE Championship was her fifth career LPGA Tour title and an especially “meaningful and special” victory for the LOTTE-sponsored player from the Republic of Korea who has competed at the LOTTE Championship every year since its inaugural tournament in 2012. In her past ten appearances at the tournament, Kim has eight Top-25 finishes and four Top-10 finishes including a T12 at the inaugural event when she competed as an amateur.
This is the second year Hoakalei Country Club will host LOTTE Championship. The tournament was previously played at Ko Olina Golf Club (2012-2019) and Kapolei Golf Club (2021).
Hoakalei Golf Club was designed by former World No. 1 and four-time major champion Ernie Els and opened in 2009. The course was built on a former sugar plantation and is located adjacent to the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point. According to Els, he considered the local trade winds when designing the layout, meaning that the course will play very differently according to which way the winds blow.
The name Hoakalei, which means "reflection of a lei," is derived a Hawaiian legend about the volcano goddess Pele, who traveled across the islands with her sister Hi'iaka in search of her lover Lohiau.
Tickets for the 2023 LOTTE Championship will be available for purchase at the main gate during tournament week April 9-15. The LPGA competition rounds will be played Wednesday through Saturday, April 12-15, with broadcast coverage on Golf Channel during all four rounds from 7-11 p.m. EST.
The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women, with a goal to change the face of golf by making the sport more accessible and inclusive.
About the LPGA
Created in 1950 by 13 Founders, the Association celebrates a diverse and storied history. The LPGA Tour competes across the globe, reaching television audiences in more than 220 countries. The Symetra Tour, the LPGA’s official qualifying tour, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. The LPGA also holds a joint-venture collaboration with the Ladies European Tour (LET), increasing playing opportunities for female golfers in Europe. Across the three Tours, the LPGA represents players in more than 60 countries.
Additionally, the LPGA Foundation has empowered and supported girls and women since 1991, most notably through LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, the only national program of its kind, which annually engages with nearly 100,000 girls. The LPGA Amateur Golf Association and LPGA Women’s Network provide virtual and in-person connections to female golfers around the world, while LPGA Professionals are educators, business leaders and gamechangers dedicated to growing the game of golf for everyone.