The first major of the year is finally here and promises to bring plenty of excitement. The LPGA’s best talent will be on display at the Chevron Championship. In addition to a slew of former Chevron Champions, the field will include all top-10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings as well as the tour’s brightest rising stars.
New Digs
For the past 51 years, the Chevron Championship has called Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California home. This year will mark the start of a new era when the tour tees it up at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, just an hour outside of Houston. The tournament will be played on the 6,824-yard, par-72 Jack Nicklaus Signature Course. The course zigzags through lakes and parklands, and the greens feature interesting undulation and bunkering. After its opening in 2001, the course was named the “Best New Private Course in Texas” and “#3 Best New Private Course in the U.S.” by Golf Digest. It has hosted several events, most notably the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and the annual Carlton Woods Invitational, a high-level senior amateur tournament.
Homeward Bound
With the move to The Club at Carlton Woods, several players will be returning home to the Lone Star State. A whopping 14 players in the field call Texas home, and three have been in the state most of their lives. Cheyenne Knight and Angela Stanford call the greater Fort Worth area home, which is about four hours north of Houston, and Stacy Lewis, who grew up in The Woodlands, lives in College Station, near Texas A&M University where her husband, Garrod Chadwell, coaches the recent Southeastern Conference champion women’s golf team. This week will be just the second start of 2023 for Lewis’ assistant Solheim Cup captain, Stanford, after competing at the LPGA Drive On Championship a few weeks ago. Knight has had a strong start in 2023, carding two top 20s. Her best finish so far this season came at the LPGA Drive On Championship where she shot 15-under to finish T14. Notable Texas residents include winningest French player Celine Boutier, world No. 3 Jin Young Ko, former major champion Sei Young Kim, world No. 5 Minjee Lee, and 3-time major winner In Gee Chun.
A Top 10 Showdown
All the members of the Rolex Rankings Top 10 will be in attendance this week and will provide some of the stiffest competition in the field. No. 1 Lydia Ko leads the pack with a strong record at the Chevron Championship. The Kiwi won the major in 2016 and finished runner up in 2021, not to mention three additional top 20s. No. 2 Nelly Korda will be making her return to this major after missing out in 2022 due to injury. The last time Korda teed it up at the Chevron Championship she finished just after Ko at T3. Her best result at the Chevron came just a year earlier when she carded a 15-under to finish T2. But it’s not all about experience. World No. 4 Atthaya Thitikul is hitting her stride and finding a way to constantly contend. Dating back to 2022, Thitikul has carded 10 top 10s, including a win at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, in her last 11 starts. No. 10 Georgia Hall has also found a hot streak. Hall has turned in six top-10 finishes in her last seven starts, including two back-to-back runner-up results at the LPGA Drive On Championship and the DIO Implant LA Open.
Defending Champion
After three seasons, Jennifer Kupcho finally found her first win on tour at last season’s installment of the Chevron Championship – the first of three wins for the Colorado-native in 2022. Kupcho’s win was powered by an 8-under third round that set a 54-hole scoring record (200) and put her six strokes ahead of the competition on Sunday. The lead proved too much to overcome and Kupcho took the leap into Poppies Pond. The 25-year-old has had a respectable start to the 2023 season but has yet to break through into contention. So far, Kupcho’s best finish came at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions where she shot a 2-under 286 to card a T16 result. However, all the memories of her very first LPGA Tour win may prove to be enough to vault her into contention this week.
Rookies in the Mix
Thirteen rookies played their way to the field this week, highlighted by rising stars Natthakritta Vongtaveelap and Grace Kim. Vongtaveelap has stunned the competition in her two starts this season. She was runner-up at the Honda LPGA Thailand – her LPGA debut – and T6 at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei. The Thai sensation has yet to finish outside the top 10 and can prove her mettle against the toughest competition she’s faced yet. But it is Grace Kim who has truly broken through, becoming the first rookie to win on Tour with her gritty victory at the LOTTE Championship. Just one shot behind the lead going into the final round, Kim shot 2-under to force her way into a three-way playoff. The Aussie needed just one final birdie to win it all and become both the first rookie to take home a trophy and the third first-time winner of 2023.
)
)
)
)
