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It’s rare to find something new in the ancient game. Yet next spring at the ultra-exclusive Nanea Golf Club, an innovative LPGA event will feature the best pros and collegiate players in the country on the No. 1-ranked course in Hawaii.
“It is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful, arguably spiritual golf courses on planet Earth,” said LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler, “and it’s never been seen on TV before.”
That will change March 11-14 when Golf Channel’s “Live From” show at the Players Championship leads into primetime tournament coverage for the LPGA's Nanea Cup on the Big Island.
A field of 95 LPGA pros and 25 collegiate players will play alongside each other, from the same tees, in two competitions that will run concurrently, the tour has announced. The five teams will include Stanford, Arkansas, Texas A&M, the University of Texas and UCLA.
A women’s college golf event has been held at Nanea, and hosted by Stanford, since 2013. What started as the Pac 12 Preview became the Nanea Invitational, with an impressive champions list that includes Alison Lee, Bronte Law, Andrea Lee, Rose Zhang and Megha Ganne.
The presence of high-level amateurs at LPGA events, particularly the majors, makes for a more compelling product. This will, no doubt, deliver that and more.
Stanford coach Anne Walker said her players have consistently ranked the Nanea event as their favorite on the college circuit. The David McLay Kidd design, set on the slopes of Mount Hualalai with breathtaking views of the ocean on every hole, presents players with several options on every shot. The black lava terrain creates a unique and striking contrast in this raw corner of the world.
“When you’re up there, it’s the only golf course that I’ve ever been to globally that is silent,” said Walker. “It really knocks the players off because it’s true silence. You can’t hear anything.”
Nanea is Kessler’s favorite place in the world. His second job out of college was at KKR, the global investment firm co-founded by George Roberts, who, along with Charles Schwab, built Nanea. When Kessler accepted the job as LPGA commissioner last year, Roberts was one of many who reached out offering to help.
While the new format and highly-rated venue are certainly headlines of the event, the four “proud partners” – Charles Schwab, Dell Technologies, Salesforce and Workday – are a story in themselves. All four global brands are partnering with the LPGA for the first time, and Kessler hopes their presence and experience will lead to more in the future – more from them and others.
With the next generation competing alongside current stars, mentorship is a main pillar of the Nanea Cup. It will happen organically, of course, but there will be more formal ways, too, of connecting players in the hope of easing the transition to tour life.
During the event’s pro-am, every player in the field will gain access to a new circle of executives, creating tremendous opportunity for pros and amateurs alike to create relationships.
In addition, the event aims to raise $1 million toward the Nanea Foundation to support local charities.
The LPGA has a long history of events in Hawaii, beginning in the early 1980s with the Women’s Kemper Open on Maui. The Lotte Championship on Oahu, which debuted in 2012, is slated for October this year. Kessler wouldn’t divulge whether or not there might be a two-tournament Hawaii swing in 2027.
The Nanea Cup will follow the spring Asian swing and precede the Fortinet Founders Cup near San Francisco.
“In 2027, we’ll make progress,” said Kessler of improved routing, courses and purses. “By ’29, I think our optimal schedule should be brought to life.”
Beth Ann Nichols is a senior writer for Golfweek covering the LPGA and all things women's golf.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LPGA adds innovative Hawaii event on course commish calls 'spiritual'
