2023 ʻĀnuenue Spring Break Classic tees off at Kāʻanapali

The University of Hawai‘i will host the ninth annual ʻĀnuenue Spring Break Classic at Kā‘anapali. Fourteen women’s college golf teams from eight states will compete over three days on Maui from March 27-29, 2023 at the Royal Kā‘anapali on Maui.

The University of Hawai‘i is hosting the event. UC Davis is the defending championship team from 2021, and Madison Wood is the defending individual champion from UC Davis.

Competing teams include: Boise State, Brigham Young, Cal Poly, Denver, Gonzaga, Hawai‘i, New Mexico State, Pepperdine, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Seattle, Stanford (three individuals) Tulane, UC Davis and UCLA. The teams are from seven different conferences including: AAC (1), Big West (3), Mountain West (2), Pac-12 (2), Summit (1), WCC (4) and WAC (2).

Like the John A. Burns Intercollegiate for men, the ʻĀnuenue Spring Break Classic allows many top-ranked women’s college players to compete against one another in the Aloha State.

Notable ʻĀnuenue individual champions include Daniela Holmqvist (California, 2012), who held the 36-hole lead in the 2020 Women’s British Open, Grace Na (Pepperdine, 2013-14), a four-time All-American and four-time WCC Player of the Year and Andrea Wong (UC Davis, 2015), a three-year Symetra Tour member.

2023 marks the ninth year of the Rainbow Wahine’s tournament on Maui. The first six years were contested on Kapalua’s Bay Course. Waikoloa;s Kings Course hosted for one year before Royal Kā‘anapali became the host venue in 2021.

In 2021, UC Davis’ Madison Wood edged teammate Jackie Lucena by a single stroke for the individual medalist honor at Kā‘anapali.

The highest ranked player via Golfstat in this year’s field is Tulane sophomore Carla Bernat (No. 8). She comes to Kā‘anapali after a runner-up finish in last week’s Florida State Match Up, earning her ACC Golfer of the Week honors. She will face stiff competition from No. 16 Zoe Campos (UCLA), a sophomore with four top-10 finishes in her first seven starts in the 2022-23 season. Right on her heels at No. 17 is Stanford freshman Megha Ganne, the 2021 AJGA Rolex Player of the Year and one of three individuals competing for the Cardinal at Kā‘anapali.

Other top-ranked players include No. 31 Lion Higo (Pepperdine), No. 34 Sadie Englemann (Stanford), No. 46 Anna Foster (Denver) and No. 54 Caroline Canales (UCLA). 

UC Davis returns to Kā‘anapali to defend their 2021 team title after the Aggies’ 20-stroke victory over host Hawai‘i.

America’s No. 1 women’s golf team, Stanford, will send Ganne, Sadie Englemann and Kelly Xu to Maui.

Seven of the 14 teams are listed in Golfstat’s Top 100: No. 1 Stanford, No. 24 Pepperdine, No. 43 Denver, No. 60 Tulane, No. 83 Gonzaga, No. 91 New Mexico State and No. 98 San Francisco.

The 2023 field includes four past team champions who have won a combined six Anuenue team titles: UCLA (2013, 2017), Pepperdine (2014), UC Davis (2015, 2021) and Hawai‘i (2018).

“Kā‘anapali proudly hosted the LPGA Women’s Kemper Open when Amy Alcott won the inaugural event in the islands. The ʻĀnuenue Spring Break Classic at Kā‘anapali now represents the next generation of the game’s best,” said Karl Reul, GM at Kā‘anapali Golf Courses. “Our Senior Superintendent Todd Allen and his team have worked diligently to create excellent tournament conditions for these collegiate players.”

“Royal Kā‘anapali is just so fun to play,” said Hawai‘i Women’s Golf Team Head Coach, Julie Brooks. “Wide fairways, big greens for different pins and great views of the ocean. We may even see whales jumping too.”

Tournament attendance is free and walking spectators are encouraged. Parking is available on-site.