This LPGA Major Just Made a PGA TOUR Venue Its New Home

In the wake of Brooks Koepka returning to the PGA TOUR, the creation of the WTGL, and the men's golf season opener kickstarting this week, you may have missed that the LPGA's first major of the year will have a new home in 2026, and it's lowkey a big deal.

The Chevron Championship, formerly known as the ANA Inspiration, is scheduled for April 23-26 and will relocate from Carlton Woods to Memorial Park Golf Course, just 40 miles down the road. Memorial is famously home to the PGA TOUR's Texas Children's Houston Open which will be played a little under a month prior.

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Chevron signed on to be a partner of the LPGA in October 2021 to help bolster the product of the major, and since then has increased the total prize purse to $8 million, has bettered player treatment (think courtesy cars and physio treatments), and has even held champions dinners like we see at The Masters. But one caveat to this change was the tournament moving away from the green oasis that is Mission Hills in California to Houston, where Chevron's HQ is located.

The first year the partnership went into effect, the major was still contested at it's old home—Mission Hills where it had tenure and 50 years of history tied to the event, including the legacy of the First Lady of Women's Golf—Dinah Shore.

But the move from this desert oasis to Texas hasn't been effortless and the major has struggled. After last year's tournament I wrote an essay on how Chevron can take a page out of The Masters playbook in creating its identity.

This news isn't a step in the right direction, but a new one.

The move signals that the Tour and title sponsor Chevron heard the criticism around Carlton Woods and made a (necessary) adjustment. I've said it before, but the Jack Nicklaus signature course just didn't have enough juice as the first major venue. Sure it played long and difficult, but at any given moment during the broadcast you could see the lack of fan foot traffic. The place just wasn't suited to be a spectacle.

In choosing a course that will host a men's event just weeks prior, the idea is that the LPGA will use a similar formula for the fan experience and smooth out some of the kinks that the championship has experienced over the last three years.

"Chevron’s partnership continues to set a standard for what it means to invest in women’s golf — not just as a championship, but as a platform to inspire and grow the game. Moving The Chevron Championship to Memorial Park Golf Course strengthens that vision," said commissioner Craig Kessler in the official announcement.

It brings the event closer to the heart of Houston, connecting more fans and communities to our athletes, and helping ensure this major—a tradition that began in 1972—continues to shine as one of the game’s most meaningful stages."

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