The LPGA Is Taking Over Kapalua — and Giving the Plantation Course a New Era
GOATIFYKapalua lost its place on the PGA Tour calendar after drought and water restrictions broke a tradition that had lasted a quarter-century. Now the Plantation Course is getting elite professional golf back through a different door. The LPGA will move the LOTTE Championship to Maui in March 2027, pairing it with the new Nanea Cup on the Big Island for a two-event Hawaii swing. That is more than a venue change. It gives the LPGA one of American golf’s most recognizable landscapes at the same moment the PGA Tour has walked away.
Kapalua Lost the PGA Tour — the LPGA Is Filling the Gap
For 25 years, Kapalua and the PGA Tour were nearly synonymous with the opening stretch of the season. The Plantation Course’s huge elevation changes, wide corridors and Pacific views gave the Sentry a visual identity few tournaments could copy. But the 2026 event was canceled after drought-like conditions and irrigation restrictions damaged the course, and the PGA Tour later ended its Hawaii presence for the following season.
The LPGA is stepping into that gap quickly. The 2027 LOTTE Championship is scheduled for March 18-21 with a $3 million purse and a full field of 120 players. Kapalua says it will be the first LPGA event at the resort since the 2008 Kapalua LPGA Classic, which was played on the Bay Course rather than the Plantation Course.
The timing matters because the Plantation Course has recovered enough to be open for public play again. Kapalua currently lists the course as open and describes the 7,596-yard, par-73 Coore-and-Crenshaw design as playable across its dramatic slopes and ocean-facing terrain. Moving a full-field women’s event there turns a venue that had become a symbol of the PGA Tour’s Hawaii retreat into a centerpiece of the LPGA schedule.
The Move Gives the LPGA a Better Hawaii Story
The move also creates a cleaner Hawaii story for the LPGA. Instead of a single isolated stop, the LOTTE Championship will sit alongside the inaugural Nanea Cup in Kailua-Kona, giving players consecutive events in the islands. That can make travel more efficient while giving the tour two very different Hawaiian settings to sell to fans and sponsors.
There is a strong competitive bridge into the new era too. Jeeno Thitikul won the final LOTTE Championship at Hoakalei Country Club on Oahu, closing with birdies on 17 and 18 after a double bogey on 16. Her 21-under total gave her a three-shot victory over Ina Yoon and her fourth LPGA Tour title of 2026. The tournament therefore arrives at Kapalua with a recent champion who is already one of the biggest names in women’s golf.
Kapalua should also change the feel of the championship. Hoakalei rewarded a more conventional modern tournament test; the Plantation Course is built around scale, wind, elevation and unusual angles. Its fairways can look generous, but the slopes and trade winds can turn small misses into very different approaches. That makes the 2027 event interesting before a field is even announced: the course itself becomes part of the storyline.
The PGA Tour leaving Kapalua looked like the end of a famous chapter. The LPGA’s move makes it look more like a handoff. If the course is healthy and tournament-ready next March, the LOTTE Championship will inherit a venue with instant recognition, while Kapalua gets a new generation of stars and a new reason to matter on the professional calendar. For the LPGA, that is exactly the kind of schedule move that can make an established tournament feel new again.
