The Chevron Championship, the LPGA Tour’s first major of each season, is moving. The tournament played each April will switch in 2026 from The Club at Carlton Woods outside Houston across the city to Memorial Park Golf Course, where the PGA Tour holds its Texas Children’s Houston Open in March.
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The LPGA’s schedule for next season has not been released, but it is expected to be revealed next week during the CME Group Tour Championship, the final event of the season. The move was first reported by Golfweek.
The LPGA declined to comment on the report, with a tour spokesperson commenting to Golf Digest on Friday, “We’re in active discussions finalizing next season’s schedule and are excited about what’s ahead. There are still some moving parts, but we feel really good about the progress we’ve made.”
The LPGA moved the major, formerly known for its association with Dinah Shore, from Rancho Mirage, Calif., three years ago after Texas-based Chevron took over the lead sponsorship in 2022 and staged it for the last time in the Southern California desert.
Next year’s move to the municipal Memorial Park layout means the LPGA can piggyback the playing of the Chevron (April 23-26) with the Houston Open (March 26-29), affording it the use of established grandstands and conditions set up for a tour event.
Chevron has gone all out with its champions dinner and activations for players and fans, but it’s still working to gain more traction with fans in the area. Playing at a public course, a known venue among local golfers, could go a long way in attracting bigger galleries.
The Chevron Championship’s departure from California to Texas was controversial, especially with traditionalists who loved the desert backdrop and community. The tournament started in 1972 and became a major in 1983.
“Moving to Houston was critical because we wanted to make sure we put it where our biggest employee base was,” Glenn Weckerlin, Chevron’s global director of brand and partner line management, told Golf Digest in April. “Employees were really critical. We have a huge employee base … and the community is pretty critical for us, and we want to have an impact and use the event to elevate the profile of the people that we’re partnering with. We wanted to make sure that the players were proud of it and, you know, it’s major, right?”
Chevron kept some of the traditions from the desert, including the winner’s jump in the pond with her caddie and team. Mao Saigo likely took the last joyful leap into the water earlier this year. There is no water hazard at the 18th at Memorial Park, but it’s possible next year’s champion will make a new celebratory tradition.
Chevron clearly sees Memorial Park, a public course that averages 60,000 rounds per year, as a way to help improve the major.
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Previous Next Pause Play Save for later Public Memorial Park Golf Course Houston, TX 3.8 11 Panelists A significant renovation was completed by Tom Doak (in collaboration with Brooks Koepka) to transform the old municipal course at Memorial Park—which hosted the first Houston Open in 1947 and then again from 1951 through 1965—into a layout worthy of being a PGA Tour venue. Originally built in 1912 at a hospital near Camp Logan for recovering soldiers to use, architect John Bredemus redesigned the course in 1935 and added a second nine. Now with signature Doak green complexes and tour-level conditioning, Memorial Park is once again a must-play in the state and averages 60,000 rounds a year. View Course
“We’ve got to grow the fan base, and you can’t just assume that everybody’s going to automatically like golf,” Weckerlin said in April. “That may or may not be the case, but, if we can make golf fun, it’s the whole point of these.”
The three champions, respectively, since the Chevron moved to Texas are Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda and Saigo.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
