Chevron Championship 2023 has a new swimming pool for the new champion
Before returning to The Club, the Chevron Championship, despite many names, was still only at Dinah Shore in the Mission Hills golf complex in California. In its 50 years of settlement, the award recognized Amy Alcott jumping into the Poppie Lake surrounding the 18th green after winning twice – 1988 and 1991. Three years later, this scene became the norm. In 1998, Pat Hurst only waded to knee level because he couldn't swim.
By 2022, LPGA Tour announced to bring Chevron Championship to The Club. This decision made the international golf world worry about losing the moment the new champion "launched". However, The Club is prepared to maintain the unique etiquette for the tournament.
From 2022 onwards, the cup holders do not need to worry about the possibility of injury when jumping into Lake Poppie because it is artificial, free of sharp objects and dangerous animals. At The Club, the bathing area is a natural lake, less than a meter deep. For safety reasons, the yard underwent renovations to it, which took several months of planning and construction.
To increase the depth, they initially planned to dredge the entire bottom, but this could cause the green floor to collapse. After considering many options, they decided to build a wharf-style water access, dredging in a gentle slope. "At the end of the bridge, the water is about 1.5 meters deep. The further away, the deeper, sometimes up to 3.3 meters," The Club's CEO Stephen Salzman shared information on Golfweek on April 18.
Salzman also sent a team of divers to survey the bottom of the lake. They picked up rocks and lots of construction debris, from concrete debris to metal. The water around the yard is rare for crocodiles, but the host has arranged a dedicated net fence to prevent them or other dangerous species from appearing suddenly.
At the Chevron Championship 2022, Jennifer Kupcho bathed in Lake Poppie when setting the championship milestone -14. This year, she doesn't promise to continue doing it at her new pool if she defends her title at The Club. "I'm not sure what to do. Maybe there are snakes in the lake," Kupcho said cautiously before the 2023 match.
In this year's Chevron Championship deployment scenario, the new battlefield The Club puts the new swimming championship in the "volunteer" category. However, the host ground will prepare robes and slippers for the main character and supporting faces when the work is done.
The Club is starting a 10-year contract to host the Chevron Championship for the LPGA Tour - the event's host organization. This time, the defending champion Kupcho was given a Bentley to travel. Round 1 starts at 19:15 tonight, April 20 (Hanoi time).
