LPGA Tour set to return to Hawaii with new full-field event in April

The LPGA Tour is returning to Hawaii.

The tour announced Thursday that the Lotte Championship Presented by J Golf will be played on Oahu starting in mid-April, ending a two-year absence for the LPGA in Michelle Wie’s home state.

The LPGA and Asia-based Lotte announced a three-year agreement to hold the $1.7 million, full-field event. LPGA Tour officials say the host course will be announced in the coming weeks.

Hawaii, which hosts two PGA Tour events, hosted as many as three LPGA events in 2008, but that fell to none by 2010 because of the loss of corporate sponsorships amid the recession.

The Lotte Championship is one of three new tournaments on the schedule this year. It joins the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic and the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic.