Getty Images
Stacy Lewis admits it was a little strange to be in the LPGA’s first major tournament of 2023. After a half-century in Palm Springs, the Chevron Championship (formerly known as ANA and Dinah Shore) has moved to The Woodlands, just outside of Houston. This means a new golf course. It means new traditions. But for Louis, that means a blast from the past, too: sleeping in the house.
“Yeah, it’s a little weird to stay at my parents’ house and go play a golf tournament,” Lewis said Wednesday, addressing the media from Carlton Woods, three and a half miles away from the fossils this week.
The Woodlands is a golf town. And while Lewis only played Carlton a handful of times, her family belonged at the Woodlands Country Club just down the road.
“We were finishing school and my parents were dropping me off at the golf course, and that’s all I did,” she said.
In other societies it may be an isolated experience; The world of the novice golfer can be lonely. But Lewis remembers that in 2003 her golf team at Woodlands High had 30 girls on the list. She credited the supportive golf community for making this happen.
“I seem to have a lot of cities as we travel around with the tour, but I always want to be announced from Woodlands because it’s where I grew up, where I learned to golf, and it feels like home to my place.”
Two decades later, 38-year-old Lewis is a pioneer in the professional game. Earlier this week, I helped the US Solheim Cup favorites get their hands on a uniform. She said she most likely draws from a group of 15 or 20 people, and hopes the spectacle of red, white, and blue gear will provide some extra motivation as they hunt for a spot on the roster.
She pioneered shaping this week’s event, too. Lewis was part of Chevron’s player advisory group, providing feedback on what makes a tournament feel special.
“Obviously there is a lot of tradition in this event, and [they asked] What traditions were most important to us. They’ve asked current players, they’ve asked retired players, and they’ve asked everyone else.
While she’d be excited to see a player honor the tradition of Palm Springs’ Poppie’s Pond — though fear of local creatures might be a deterrent — mentioning the tournament’s founder was priority #1.
“For me, Dinah was and still is the most important thing,” she said. “You can take a leap at Poppie’s Pond and all that sort of thing, but for me, there’s a reason Dinah is the only person who doesn’t play in the LPGA Hall of Fame. There’s a reason for that.
“Chevron smashed it. You see it with the trophy. Dinah’s place at 18. It’s all about Dinah this week, and that’s what we’ve tried to tell them over and over again that’s what counts.”
It should be noted that Lewis’ loyalty extends far beyond the Woodlands. Prior to the 2017 Cambia Portland Classic, Lewis pledged her weekly earnings to the victims of Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area. She made good on her promise with her first win in three years and she and sponsor KPMG donated nearly $400,000 as a result. She’s eager for this tournament to start giving back, too.
“I think if we’re having an impact in the community, if people know it’s going on, if we’re supporting local charities, not just in the Woodlands; I think all of Houston. We have to get all of Houston’s members involved in this, and that’s something that probably doesn’t happen in a year.” One, to be honest. This city is very big.”
Then there is the matter of Lewis golf. It’s been 12 years since her first official LPGA win, which came at the event – later called the Kraft Nabisco Championship – in 2011. She hasn’t competed much over the past 12 months but has had top 10s and top 25s in her three starts Last.
“I actually feel pretty good about it,” she admitted. “[I’ve] It was popular – I think I’ve played really well in the last three tournaments, to be honest.
“It’s no fun being here and playing bad. I’m not one of those guys who likes to be here and just hang around and play bad golf. I don’t just have to let my game go sideways even though all these different things are going on.”
In the week we usher in a new major championship, it’s worth asking: What makes a major anyway? There is no right answer, but the simplest version goes something like this: Majors are majors because we decide they are. In this context, Chevron would do well to follow Lewis’ lead. She knows the nature of the LPGA like no one else. She knows the scenery in the Woodlands, too.
Looks like a good week to go home.