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Michelle Wie and the LPGA will be back April 13-16 for the fifth annual Lotte Championship, at Ko Olina Golf Club.
Along with Wie — the Punahou graduate who won Lotte and the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014 — defending champion Sei Young Kim is expected to return along with Hyo Joo Kim, Inbee Park, Shanshan Feng, So Yeon Ryu and Paula Creamer. Hawaii’s Stephanie Kono also should be in the field.
They will play for a $1.8 million purse, with the champion getting $270,000. Kim holed out from 154 yards on the first playoff hole last year to defeat Park in a playoff.
Admission is free Sunday through Tuesday of tournament week, with tickets priced at $10 daily Wednesday-Saturday and available at the gate. All-week passes are $25. Children 16 and younger, accompanied by a paying adult, are free as are members of the military.
Free spectator parking is available with shuttle service. For more information, visit lottechampionship.com.
Junior Golf Day set for March 19
Hawaii’s fifth annual Junior Golf Day will be held at 12 golf courses around the state March 19. The free event, for new and beginning golfers between the ages of 5 and 18, is sponsored by the Aloha Section PGA and Hawaii State Junior Golf Association.
The day starts at each site with registration at 8:30 a.m. That is followed by a free kids golf clinic from 9-11 a.m., given by PGA and LPGA professionals.
Refreshments will be provided, along with certificates of completion and a tee prize. Parents will receive information on how to get started in junior golf in Hawaii through the Roadmap to Junior Golf, an online “resource containing information on all the programs around the state for juniors to learn, play and compete in the game.”
More than 2,200 kids participated in Hawaii Junior Golf Day the past four years. Visit hsjga.org to sign up.
Participating courses
Kauai: Puakea and Princeville Makai
Oahu: Hawaii Prince, Ko Olina, Ko‘olau, Olomana and Turtle Bay
Maui: Ka‘anapali, Waiehu and Wailea
Island of Hawaii: Hilo Muni and Kona Country Club
New program starts at Poipu
Poipu Bay has introduced a “7-Hole Stretch” program that includes range balls, green fee for the course’s first seven holes, cart fee, GPS and bottled water.
Cost is $70 per person. Club rentals are available at a special $25 rate. The “Stretch” will be available through the end of the year.
Tee times can be booked at 800-858-6300.
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