This year’s LPGA Lotte Championship tees off in a month at Ko Olina Golf Club.
Tournament week opens with qualifying and the Pro-Am on Sunday, April 9. Admission is free that day and for Monday’s and Tuesday’s practice rounds.
The Ladies First Golf Clinic also returns on Monday at 4:30 p.m. on the practice range. Cristie Kerr and Azahara Munoz will run the free clinic. Participants receive a free Lotte ticket and other gifts.
The tournament is Wednesday-Saturday, April 12-15.
TODAY’S TIP: MASTER STROKES
“Reading the grain” of a green correctly can make or break your putt, especially on greens with Bermuda grass. You want to determine the grain (the direction its growing) so you know if you are putting with it or against it. A simple way to look at its color. If the grain is going in the same direction your putt will be going, it will appear as a lighter shade of green and look shiny. If the grain is growing against your putt, the grass will look darker and coarser. Your putt with the grain will run faster, so you need to hit it lighter and play more break. If your putt is against the grain, it will run slower, so you will need to hit it a little firmer and play a little less break.
— Jim McLean, owner, Jim McLean Golf School, author of the best-selling books “The Slot Swing” and “The 8-Step Swing”
Minjee Lee won last year’s Lotte, shooting a final-round 64. Other previous champions are Sei Young Kim, Suzann Pettersen, Ai Miyazato and Hawaii’s Michelle Wie.
Lee, Miyazato and Wie are on the preliminary play list, along with Paula Creamer, Brooke Henderson, Ariya Jutanugarn, Stacy Lewis, Lydia Ko, Lizette Salas, Lexi Thompson and Angela Stanford.
This year’s event has a $2 million purse. Tickets are $10 daily or $25 for a season ticket. Children 16 and younger are free with a paid adult. Active duty and retired military are also free with official military ID.
All four rounds will be broadcast on the Golf Channel.
Registration set for Jennie K.
Registration forms are out for the Jennie K. Wilson Invitational, the last women’s major remaining. The 67th Jennie K. will be May 19-21 at Mid-Pacific Country Club.
Amateur women golfers 16 and older, with a handicap index of 22.0 or less, are eligible. Golfers younger than 16, with an index of 4.0 or less, can apply to compete in the championship flight.
Past champions include Michelle Wie, Mariel Galdiano, Nicole Sakamoto, Anna Umemura, Stephanie Kono and Hawaii Golf Hall of Famers Bev Kim, Brenda Rego, Tura Nagatoshi, Jackie Yates and Joan Damon. Japan’s Kaira Nabeshima won last year.
Applications and more information are available at MPCC.
Date, site change for women’s match play
Dates and site for the third Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association members-only Match Play Championship have changed.
The tournament, in its third year as a members-only event, has moved from Oahu Country Club to Kaneohe Klipper and will be played May 8-10.
HSWGA members must have a handicap index of 22.1 or less (24 handicap at Klipper) to play. Championship flight competes without handicap and other flights with handicap. Cost is $125.
