The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour, it is one of the tour's five major championships, and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Since 2023, it has been played in the Greater Houston area.
Founded in 1972 by singer and actress Dinah Shore and Colgate-Palmolive chairman David Foster, it was played at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, from its inception through 2022. Sometimes referred to as The Dinah Shore in deference to its founder, the tournament has had many official sponsored titles, all of which included Shore's name until 2000. It relocated to Houston in 2023 due to a new sponsorship agreement with Chevron Corporation. The tournament was held at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in The Woodlands from 2023 to 2025, and will move to Houston's Memorial Park course beginning 2026.
The championship's time at Mission Hills is associated with several traditions; in 1988, Amy Alcott established a tradition of the event's champion diving into the pond that surrounds the 18th hole—a tradition that would be carried over to the tournament's future hosts. An annual women's festival that originally coincided with the championship has been held since 1991.
History
Founded in 1972 by Colgate-Palmolive chairman and entertainer the championship has been classified as a major since From its inception, it had been held annually at Shore's favorite course, the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, southeast of Palm Springs. its purse was more than double that of the LPGA Championship or the U.S. Women's Open. The first edition invited all winners of tour events from the previous