'Something About This Place': LPGA Chevron Tourney In Rancho Mirage

RANCHO MIRAGE, CA — American Jennifer Kupcho and Australian Minjee Lee share the lead at The Chevron Championship entering Friday's second round. They are one shot ahead of defending champion Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand.

Lydia Ko, the tournament's 2016 champion, and fellow Australian Gabriela Ruffles, who played three years at USC, are among six golfers tied for fourth, two shots off the lead.

Kupcho shot a 6-under 66 with nine birdies and three bogeys at Mission Hills Country Club on Thursday. She birdied four of the first five holes, bogeyed the par-3 eighth hole, birdied the par-5 ninth, then had four consecutive birdies on the 11th through 14th holes. Kupcho bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes, both par 4s.

"I played really well," said Kupcho, who missed the cut at last week's JTBC Classic. "I really like the layout of this golf course, the beautiful shape that it's in every year. It always is so fun to be here, so just taking advantage of how much I like the course and the atmosphere."

Lee began her bogey-free round on the 10th hole and birdied three of her first four holes. She also birdied the 18th, second and ninth holes, all par-5s.

Tavatanakit also began her round on the 10th hole, which she bogeyed, but birdied the next hole.

She had her second and final bogey of the round on the 14th hole. She also birdied the 16th and 18th holes to finish the back nine at 1-under 35, then birdied four of her final eight holes.

When asked what was the strength of her game Thursday, Tavatanakit responded, "I think I was just calm."

"Something about this place just keeps me really calm, just really present," said Tavatanakit, who was an All-America selection by the Women's Golf Coaches Association for both her seasons at UCLA. "I think that's how I was able to turn my momentum mid-round."

This is the final time the major women's golf tournament first known for its association with the late entertainer Dinah Shore will be played in Rancho Mirage.

The LPGA and IMG, the global sports, events and talent management company which owns the tournament, announced in October that the Chevron Corp. would be the title sponsor of what was known as the ANA Inspiration from 2015-21.

The six-year agreement included a more than 60 percent increase in the tournament's purse from $3.1 million to $5 million, but also its move to the greater Houston area starting with the 2023 edition.

"We do not make the move lightly," LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said. "Since David Foster and Dinah Shore created this competition in 1972, it has held a special place in the hearts of our players and fans around the world. No matter where it is held, Dinah and her influence, along with the history built at Mission Hills, will be an integral part of The Chevron Championship."

Foster was the CEO of the Colgate-Palmolive Co. when the tournament began play in 1972 as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle, one of the first sporting events with a corporation as its title sponsor. Colgate-Palmolive used LPGA stars in its "Madge the Manicurist" commercials, where women would unknowingly sink their fingernails in Palmolive dishwashing liquid.

The tournament was known as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle from 1972-80, the Colgate-Dinah Shore in 1981, the Nabisco Dinah Shore Invitational in 1982 and Nabisco Dinah Shore from 1983-1999.

The tournament became what was then one of women's golf's four championships in 1983. There are now five.

The tournament dropped Shore's name following the 1999 edition to become the Nabisco Championship. It was known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship from 2002-14. The winner continues to receive a trophy named for Shore, who died in 1994.

The tournament has been played at Mission Hills Country Club throughout its existence. The only LPGA or PGA tournament to have been played longer at a single venue is the Masters.

"It's definitely unfortunate that it will be moving from this special venue at Mission Hills," said Lexi Thompson, the tournament's 2014 champion, who shot a 3-under 69 Thursday and is among six golfers tied for 10th, three shots off the lead.

"I think we're all about a bit bummer out about it, but at the same time, we're not losing the event, we're just losing the location. Hopefully something will happen out of it. Maybe we have another event here."

The tournament is best known for the champion's leap into Poppie's Pond, located adjacent to the 18th green, a tradition begun in 1988 by Amy Alcott.

Neither the 1989 champion, Juli Inkster, nor the 1990 winner, Betsy King, made the leap. But when Alcott won for the third time in 1991, she was part of the most famous leap, joined by the then 75-year-old Shore and her caddy, Bill Kurre.

The champion has leaped in annually since 1994, except in 1998 when non-swimmer Pat Hurst waded in.

"The biggest thing about this event is Poppie's Pond," said Ko, who performed her iconic "I love you" heart sign as she took the leap after her victory in 2016. "I'm going to miss the tradition of that and every year hoping to be the one that gets to make that leap."