The LPGA Tour’s first major of the year will remain at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage after All Nippon Airways signed on as the new title sponsor.
The tournament, which was first played in 1972 as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle, will be renamed the ANA Inspiration.
“Relief is probably the right term,” Commissioner Michael Whan said of the new sponsorship. “For me personally and the goals I set for my team, this was at the top of the list for a few years, securing these five (majors). Now we can talk about building, as opposed to saving..
“This tournament is so much more than a Southern California event. Not just in the women’s golf spectrum of but in the golf spectrum, this is a global event.”
Lexi Thompson won the tournament last April at Mission Hills and took the traditional leap into “Poppie’s Pond,” which surrounds the 18th green on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course.
