The LPGA Returns, but Without Two of Its Biggest Stars

With just a week to go before its first major championship of the 2026 season, the LPGA Tour is back in the saddle for the JM Eagle LA Championship. The heavy-hitting 144-player field will take on El Caballero Country Club, competing for a share of the $3.75 million prize purse.

The LPGA Tour took a brief hiatus during the Masters, where a few of its stars were spotted taking in the first men's major of the year.

Now, though, it's back to work...for most LPGA stars. As the Chevron Championship looms, the world's best are looking to get major-ready, though there are two very big names are missing from the entries list: World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul and World No. 2 Nelly Korda.

Neither player has confirmed the why behind their absences, but it's easy to infer the reason behind their decisions.

Thitikul, who hails from Thailand, spends her time during the season residing in Dallas. Given Chevron's new home in Houston, a three-hour drive is easier on the body than a handful of flights.

As for Korda, no player has their travel schedule more on lock than she does. The second-ranked player is notorious for taking chunks of time away from competition to rest and repair her body, and ahead of one of the biggest events of the year, it's no secret as to why she isn't in the field.

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Not to mention, last year was a bit of a mess for Korda. She got very little prep time heading into Chevron week. She arrived in Texas from LA on Monday and immediately went into her champions dinner—she wasn't even able to see the course that day.

Over the course of the next two days, it was much of the same for Korda. Bad weather rained on her parade, and when the storms subsided, she was inundated with pro-am responsibilities. The combination resulted in Korda having to grind out a gusty cut-line performance on Friday last year.

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It's always interesting to see who sits and who plays the week before a major. In Rory McIlroy's case...resting proved to be the right call.

How will the pre-Chevron plans of Nelly and Jeeno influence their play at the year's first major? Will it be a Korda victory after three straight runners-ups? Will Thitikul finally have her major moment? Or will someone who's honed their skills in LA take home the hardware?