Kia Classic: LPGA Tour Golf Tournament
First played: 2010
Last played: 2022
The Kia Classic was played in a Los Angeles-area city one year, but otherwise took place in Carlsbad, California, north of San Diego, each year. It was a 72-hole, stroke-play tournament on the LPGA Tour.
There were no multiple champions — the tournament was played 12 times and had 12 different winners. Hee Kyung Seo and Sandra Gal recorded their only LPGA Tour wins in this event. Yani Tseng, in 2012, had her last LPGA Tour win here, and Atthaya Thitikul, in 2022, had her first.
The 18-hole scoring record in the Kia Classic was 62, recorded first by M.J. Hur in the third round of the 2019 tournament; and then, one round later, by Hyo Joo Kim in 2019. The 72-hole scoring record was 268, first recorded by Cristie Kerr in 2015 and matched by Mirim Lee in 2017.
Six strokes was the largest margin of victory, achieved three times: by Hee Kyung Seo in 2010, Yani Tseng in 2012 and Mirim Lee in 2017.
Also known as: Kia Motors was the original title sponsor, and the tournament was the Kia Classic from 2010-2021, all but one year. JTBC, a Korean television network, was the sponsor the final year when the tournament was named the JTBC Classic.
Winners of the LPGA Kia Classic
2010 — Hee Kyung Seo, 2762011 — Sandra Gal, 276
2012 — Yani Tseng, 274
2013 — Beatriz Recari, 279 (def. I.K. Kim in playoff)
2014 — Anna Nordqvist, 275
2015 — Cristie Kerr, 268
2016 — Lydia Ko, 269
2017 — Mirim Lee, 268
2018 — Eun-Hee Ji, 272
2019 — Nasa Hataoka, 270
2020 — No tournament
2021 — Inbee Park, 274
2022 — Atthaya Thitikul, 272 (def. Nanna Koerstz Madsen in playoff)
Golf Courses: The tournament debuted at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., and took place there again in 2012. In 2011, it was played in the Los Angeles area at Industry Hills Golf Club, in City of Industry. The tournament then found its permanent home at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad.
