LPGA to debut new tournament at exclusive Nanea Golf Club on Hawai‘i Island with $4M purse

The LPGA Tour announced a new tournament that will debut next year at one of West Hawai‘i’s most exclusive golf clubs, Nanea Golf Club.

The Nanea Cup inaugural event will be played March 11-14, 2027, with a field competing for a $4 million purse. Building on Nanea Golf Club’s longstanding commitment to women’s collegiate golf through the annual Nanea Invitational hosted by Stanford Women’s Golf Coach Anne Walker, the Nanea Cup will bring together the world’s best LPGA Tour athletes and elite collegiate golfers in a first-of-its-kind competition celebrating both the present and future of women’s golf, according to a news release from the LPGA.

The tournament will be the first professional event held at Nanea Golf Club, which opened in 2003, perched high on the volcanic flank of Hualālai, near Kailua-Kona.

“Our excitement about adding the Nanea Cup to the 2027 LPGA Tour schedule is off the charts,” said LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler. “As we continue to focus on routing, courses and purses, this event checks every box. Hawai‘i is a natural stop as we return from Asia and head to the West Coast. Nanea is a spectacular venue, our athletes will compete for a strong purse, and fans will get their first look at one of the most celebrated golf courses in the world.”

Charles Schwab, Dell Technologies, Salesforce and Workday will serve as partners of the Nanea Cup, creating what the LPGA describes as an unprecedented event that celebrates both the current and future stars of women’s golf.

Beyond competition, the Nanea Cup will create mentorship opportunities and relationship-building among collegiate athletes, LPGA Tour players and business leaders, the news release states. Additionally, the event will provide a significant financial contribution to the Nanea Foundation to support local charities in Hawai‘i.

This will be Nanea Golf Club’s first televised event, broadcast by the Golf Channel, which will also feature stories highlighting the collegiate athletes and coaches competing in the tournament.

“Golf Channel applauds the LPGA’s bold vision in creating a joint event with collegiate golf teams in primetime at a premiere venue such as Nanea Golf Club,” said Golf Channel’s Executive Vice President and General Manager Tom Knapp. “New, dynamic ideas are critical, and we look forward to putting our deep experience and relationships with today’s college golfers and coaches to work to help the LPGA build this innovative new event.”

The field will feature 95 LPGA Tour athletes and 25 of the nation’s top collegiate golfers representing five universities, including Stanford, Texas, Arkansas, Texas A&M and UCLA. The professional and collegiate competitions will be contested concurrently, creating a unique opportunity for the world’s best LPGA Tour athletes and emerging collegiate talent to compete on the same stage.

All competitors will play the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday. Following Friday’s round, the field will be cut to the low 50 players and ties. Collegiate players who do not make the cut will still complete their third and final round on Saturday to determine the collegiate team champion, while those who make the cut will also advance to Sunday’s final round alongside LPGA Tour athletes.

“We’ve designed this tournament around the values that George and Chuck instilled at Nanea from the very beginning: generosity, enjoyment, paying it forward, respect for one another and for Hawaiian culture, and appreciation of Hawaii’s natural beauty,” said Nanea President Dan Rose. “By bringing professional athletes together with collegiate stars, we will showcase women’s golf in a magical setting never before seen on TV. In addition to promoting the LPGA, we are also excited for the financial contribution to the Nanea Foundation, which will support local charities on the Big Island and throughout the state of Hawai‘i.”