Mission Hills bowing out with final major in the desert

By JOHN NICHOLSON
AP Sports Writer

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Come Sunday at Mission Hills, the winner will take the last traditional victory leap into Poppie’s Pond — and the women’s major golf tournament best known as the Dinah Shore will be history in the desert. Unable to find a sponsor willing to remain at Mission Hills, the tournament — now called The Chevron Championship — is headed to Houston next year under a six-year deal with Chevron that ends a half-century run at the beloved course. The tournament started in 1972 as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle with a $100,000 purse that was the largest in women’s golf. Amy Alcott was the first to jump in Poppie’s Pond in 1988, celebrating her second victory in the event that became a major in 1983.