ESPN Golf: LPGA Launches $4M Nanea Cup, Blending Tour Pros and Top Collegians in Hawaii

LPGA Nanea Cup: Pros and Collegians Share the Stage in Hawaii

The LPGA unveiled a bold new event for 2027: the Nanea Cup, scheduled for March 11–14 at Nanea Golf Club in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. With a $4 million purse, the field will feature 95 LPGA Tour players alongside 25 top collegiate golfers representing Stanford, Texas, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and UCLA — a first-of-its-kind format for women's professional golf.

Format: A Shared Stage, Then a Split

All competitors tee it up Thursday and Friday. After the cut, the low 50 players (and ties) advance to the weekend. College players who miss the cut will continue to compete Saturday in a team competition to crown a university champion. Golf Channel plans to spotlight the collegiate athletes throughout the broadcast, offering a window into the next generation of tour-caliber talent.

The Venue: Nanea's Professional Debut

Nanea Golf Club, opened in 2003 and designed by David McLay Kidd (known for Bandon Dunes), is a links-style course carved through native grasses and volcanic rock on the Big Island. This will mark the venue's first professional tournament — a significant milestone for a course that has long operated in relative exclusivity through the annual Nanea Invitational hosted by Stanford coach Anne Walker.

Strokeslab's Take

Beyond the novelty, this event creates a rare opportunity to measure elite college players directly against LPGA Tour professionals using shared Strokes Gained data. Watch for SG: APP and SG: Putting as the clearest indicators of where the collegiate-to-tour gap actually lies.