The venue the PGA Tour cast aside earlier this year has found a new home on the LPGA Tour. After Thailand’s Atthaya ‘Jeeno’ Thitikul won the LOTTE Championship last weekend at Hoakalei Country Club, the LPGA announced that next year’s edition of the event will be held at Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii.
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According to a report published by the tour, the tournament will feature a familiar $3 million purse and will unfold between March 15 and 21, 2027. Interestingly, The Plantation Course, where the LOTTE Championship will be held, previously hosted the PGA Tour’s The Sentry between 1999 and 2025.
However, the PGA Tour ended its partnership with the course after the 2026 cancellation of The Sentry. The event was initially called off because of severe drought, water conservation measures, and water-rights disputes, before the Tour announced it would permanently end its Hawaiian season-opening swing from 2027 due to the island’s high logistical and financial costs.
Regardless, the LOTTE Championship, which debuted back in 2012 at Ko Olina Golf Club, moved to Hoakalei Country Club in 2022. But now, with its 15th edition heading to the Plantation Course, the event will become part of a two-week Hawaii swing alongside the newly announced Nanea Cup, which was revealed in July this year.
“We are thrilled to have Kapalua Resort and The Plantation Course serve as the venue for the LOTTE Championship in 2027,” LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler said. “As we continue to strengthen the LPGA Tour schedule, venues with deep-rooted heritage like Kapalua are exactly what we look for. This new chapter would not be possible without the support and commitment to the Tour that LOTTE and Kapalua provided.
“We want to thank Hoakalei Country Club for the last five years and look forward to building on the success of the LOTTE Championship at its new home in Maui.”
Meanwhile, the move is also an effort by LOTTE and Kapalua toward the island’s recovery and revitalization following the devastating 2023 Lahaina wildfires. The LPGA’s report also highlighted that an estimated $3.4 billion is contributed annually to Maui’s economy. They also claimed that golf tourism and related spending provide $1 billion per year to the economy.
In any case, this isn’t the first time the LPGA is heading to Kapalua.
Hawaii native chimes in after LPGA’s latest move
Back in 2008, Kapalua hosted the LPGA Classic at The Bay Course, where Morgan Pressel claimed victory in an event that carried a $1.5 million purse. Now, with the LPGA Tour set to return to the resort, Hawaii native Allisen Corpuz has expressed her excitement about the tournament coming back to the islands.
“I’m really excited to see the LOTTE Championship move to Kapalua Resort and The Plantation Course in 2027,” Corpuz said. “Growing up in Hawaii, attending the LOTTE Championship was always a highlight for me, and I think Kapalua is an incredible venue to showcase the beauty of Hawaii and everything that makes the islands so special. I’m really looking forward to competing there and being able to share that experience with fans at home.”
Having said that, the countdown has officially begun as next year’s LOTTE Championship is set to unfold at Kapalua.