The Chevron Championship officially has a new home.
On Wednesday, the LPGA and Chevron announced that the first major of the year will now be played at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, after being held for the past three years at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at the Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. The move was first reported by Golf week in November.
The event, the first of five majors, will be held April 23-26, a month after Memorial Park hosts the PGA Tour’s Texas Children’s Houston Open.
“Chevron’s partnership continues to set the 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,” LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler said in a statement. “Moving the Chevron Championship to Memorial Park Golf Course furthers that vision. It brings the event closer to the heart of Houston, connecting more fans and communities with our athletes, and ensuring that this major – a tradition that began in 1972 – continues to shine as one of the most meaningful stages of the game.”
Memorial Park hosted the Houston Open fourteen times between 1947 and 1963. After the municipal gem underwent a $34 million renovation led by architect Tom Doak, the tournament returned to Memorial Park in 2020. The Houston Open moved from fall to spring in 2024.
The Chevron Championship was contested at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California, for 51 years before moving to the Club at Carlton Woods in 2023.
Moving the Chevron Championship to Memorial Park should help the LPGA and tournament organizers draw a larger crowd, holding the event closer to downtown Houston.
“Hosting the Chevron Championship, the LPGA’s first major of the year, at the City of Houston’s Memorial Park Golf Course underscores our commitment to providing a world-class fan and player experience that serves the greater Houston community and continues to showcase our great city to the world,” Jim Crane, chairman of the Astros Golf Foundation, which funded Memorial Park’s renovation, said in a statement. “The Astros Golf Foundation is proud to partner with Chevron and the LPGA to amplify this major tournament and help more Houstonians experience world-class events in the heart of the city. This event will showcase the incredible talent of the LPGA and promote the growth and reach of women’s golf – a mission we are proud to support.”
The shift to Memorial Park will give the first major of the year a slightly different feel. Since there is no pond around the 18th green in Memorial Park, this could mean the end of the celebratory jump, which was originally made famous at Poppie’s Pond in California. Last year’s winner, Mao Saigo, jumped into the pond but had difficulty returning to the dock because she is not a strong swimmer.
The decision to move the locations for the Chevron Championship is the latest in a series of major moves by Kessler, who has been commissioner for less than 200 days. Kessler has struck a landmark deal to transform the LPGA’s TV product, brought in Golf Saudi as a sponsor for a new $4 million purse tournament and has begun reworking the LPGA schedule to maximize the tour’s ability to attract more attention; on Tuesday, TGL announced it will launch a women’s league later this year. Now the first major of the year will head to a municipal course near downtown Houston, which should lead to bigger crowds and a better profile.
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