Back-to-Back Winners of the Chevron Championship
Winning back-to-back titles in the LPGA Tour major today known as the Chevron Championship has proved an elusive achievement. The tournament's history dates to 1972. But in all that time, only two golfers have won in consecutive years. And only one of those two golfers won it back-to-back after the tournament became a major.
The Chevron Championship has been known by many names over the year, most memorably the Nabisco Dinah Shore, Kraft Nabisco Championship and ANA Inspiration, and, early on, Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle.
These are the only golfers so far to win this major in consecutive years:
Annika Sorenstam, 2001-02
Annika Sorenstam won the 2001 Chevron Championship by three strokes over a quintet of runners-up: Dottie Pepper, Karrie Webb, Rachel Hetherington, Akiko Fukushima and Janice Moodie. It was her third career win in a major, coming five years after her previous major title.In the 2002 tournament (whose final round you can watch above), Sorenstam won by a stroke over Liselotte Neumann. It was her fourth major championship victory.
The 2001 victory was her 26th overall on the LPGA Tour, and the 2002 victory her 33rd. Sorenstam went on to win this tournament again in 2005, tying the record for most wins in the Chevron Championship.
Before It Was a Major
We've made several references so far to this tournament's history "before it was a major" and "after it became a major," or "in its major-championship era." Here's what all that means: The tournament launched in 1972 and was immediately a big tournament on the schedule, but it was not classified as a "major championship." From 1972-82, it was a regular stop on the LPGA Tour. But in 1983, the tournament was elevated to major championship status, and it has been on of the LPGA Tour's majors ever since.In the pre-major era, one golfer won it back-to-back:
- Sandra Post, 1978-79: Won the 1978 Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle in a playoff against Penny Pulz, then repeated as champion with a 1-stroke victory over Nancy Lopez in 1979. Post's 283 total tied the tournament scoring record in 1978; in 1979, she lowered the record to 276 (which stood for just one year).
Post won a major, the LPGA Championship, in her rookie year of 1968. She did not win again on tour until claiming "the Dinah" in 1978. Her two wins in what we now call the Chevron Championship were the second and fourth, respectively, of her LPGA Tour career.
Sources:
The Chevron Championship. Past Champions, 2000s and 1970s, https://www.thechevronchampionship.com/event-information/past-champions.
LPGA.com. Chevron Championship, Past Winners, https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/chevron-championship/past-winners.
LPGA.com. Chevron Championship, Results, https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/chevron-championship/results.
