Wire-to-Wire Winners of the Chevron Championship
Winning wire-to-wire means that a golf held or shared the lead after each of the tournament's four rounds. Of course, any win in a major (any win at all) is a good win. But a wire-to-wire victory is even more impressive. And they don't happen all that often in this major, or any of the other majors.
Wire-to-Wire Winners, No Ties
"No ties" means these wire-to-wire Chevron Championship winners held the outright lead following each round of play. They never shared the lead with any other golfers, they had the solo lead after each round.- Juli Inkster, 1989: Inkster became the tournament's first player to hold the outright lead after each round in the 1989 Chevron Championship (then named the Nabisco Dinah Shore). It happened just a year after Pat Bradley (see below) had become the first wire-to-winner but sharing the lead after one or more rounds.
Inkster led by two after an opening-round 68, and her 36-hole lead was four over Beth Daniel. Following the third round, she led by five strokes over a trio that included JoAnne Carner. And that was her final margin of victory over runners-up Carner and Tammie Green.
- Amy Alcott, 1991: Alcott dominated the tournament in 1991, winning by a final margin of eight strokes with a 273 total that lowered her own tournament record. Alcott's lead was two after the first round and again after the second round. After a 68 in Round 3 that lead grew to seven.
Alcott originated the celebratory leap into the water that is still done today by Chevron Championship winners. She first did it in 1988, and did it again this year with tournament host Dinah Shore jumping alongside her.
- Karrie Webb, 2000: Webb led by one after the first round and by three over Dottie Pepper at the 36-hole mark. But she ran away from the field after that: Webb's third-round lead was eight strokes. Webb wound up winning by 10 shots over Pepper, the distant runner-up.
- Patty Tavatanakit, 2021: She opened with a 66 to lead by one, and still led by one after 36 holes. Tavatanakit widened the margin in the third round with a 67, taking a five-stroke lead. The final winning margin was just two, but only because Lydia Ko closed with a 62. Tavatanakit was seven strokes better than anyone else.
Wire-to-Wire Winners Including Ties
"Including ties" means these golfers were the leaders or co-leaders after each round — there was one or more round in which other players tied them for the lead.- Pat Bradley, 1986: Bradley was tied after the first round and led outright after rounds one and three. She won by two strokes over Val Skinner. Bradley won three of the LPGA's four majors in 1986.
- Betsy King, 1987: King was tied for the lead after each round, including the final round. She won this title in a playoff over Patty Sheehan.
- Pat Hurst, 1998: Hurst was tied following the second round, but was the outright leader after the first, third, and, most-importantly, final rounds.
- Pernilla Lindberg, 2018: Lindberg was tied for the lead after the second round and after the final round. But after that final round, she won a playoff over Inbee Park and Jennifer Song.
Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard. Scoreboard, LPGA Tour, March 30, 1988.
LPGA Tour. LPGA Media Guide, Major Championships, Chevron Championship Records.
Spokane (Wash.) Chronicle. Scoreboard, LPGA Dinah Shore, April 7, 1986.
Washington (D.C.) Star News. For the Record, Dinah Shore Leaders, April 6, 1987.
