The LPGA has officially unveiled its 2026 schedule, a season with 33 tournaments, global expansion, and a historic figure of 132 million dollars in prizes. However, among dates, venues, and million-dollar purses, there is one blank space: the venue for the Chevron Championship, the first Major of the year, has no confirmed course.
The tour has scheduled the Chevron from 23 to 26 April “in the Houston area, venue to be determined.” This is not a minor detail: we are talking about a Major that already experienced a significant change in 2022 when it left Mission Hills after half a century of history.
According to Beth Ann Nichols, Golfweek, the Chevron is very close to leaving The Club at Carlton Woods, its home in 2023 and 2024, to move to Memorial Park, the municipal course in Houston that also hosts the Texas Children’s Houston Open of the PGA Tour. Golf Digest notes that negotiations are ongoing, and for now, the LPGA does not confirm the agreement.
Memorial Park, redesigned by Tom Doak in 2020 with an investment of 34 million, is a course highly valued by PGA Tour players for its spring conditions. In 2024, it saw Min Woo Lee win against Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland.
The main logistical challenge of the move would not be the course… but the water. The Chevron maintains the tradition of the champion’s leap into “Poppie’s Pond”, inherited from Mission Hills. Carlton Woods even modified its lake to accommodate it. Memorial Park has no water on the 18th. If the change is confirmed, it will be necessary to reinvent one of the iconic images of women’s golf.
Beyond the Chevron enigma, the 2026 schedule brings important novelties:
- The already known Aramco Championship (Shadow Creek, Las Vegas): Saudi entry into the LPGA with a 4 million dollar purse and co-sanctioned with the LET.
- FM Championship (TPC Boston): the purse rises to 4.4 million, the largest prize of the season outside of Majors and CME.
- Television revolution: all rounds of all tournaments will be broadcast live for the first time since 1995, with more cameras, drones, interviews, and Trackman tracers.
- The other four Majors will be played at: Riviera (U.S. Women’s Open), Hazeltine (Women’s PGA), Royal Lytham (AIG Open), and the traditional Evian Resort.
The tour also adjusts venues: the Kroger Queen City moves to Maketewah, the Founders Cup travels to Sharon Heights, and the Black Desert Championship disappears after just one year.
Craig Kessler, commissioner since July, highlighted that the new schedule “offers better venues, better flow, and more opportunities for the players.” The Chevron, however, remains pending. The biggest question mark of an already historic schedule could be resolved in a matter of weeks… and perhaps with a new home for the Chevron.
