10 storylines to watch at the 2026 Chevron Championship

Poppie’s Pond becomes a pool

In 1988, while the Chevron was still being hosted at Mission Hills, a tradition was establish by that year's champion, Amy Alcott, when she jumped into the pond surrounding the 18th green to celebrate her win. The tradition didn't pick up steam for a few years, but the pond was endearingly named "Poppie's Pond" in 2006, in honor of then-tournament director Terry Wilcox's nickname. When the tournament moved to The Woodlands, the lake between the ninth and 18th holes was made suitable for swimming — including installing netting to protect against alligators — so the tradition could continue. The safety of the water feature at The Club at Carlton Woods was called into question throughout the tournament's tenure there.

Yet another move has made the topic of "the jump" a headline once again. This year, a temporary, concrete-lined pool has been installed to encourage the continuation of the celebration. Memorial Park plans to install a man-made pond at the 18th green in time for the 2027 tournament, but the temporary pool has been a hot topic in the lead-up to the tournament. Questions have centered around the look of the pool, as well as the depth (4.5 feet) and whether the tradition is being unnecessarily forced since the move from Mission Hills.

And if you're wondering, 'What happens if a player hits their ball into the pool?' Yes, they get free relief — another thing to debate.

The Chevron Championship, the LPGA's first major of the year, is being held at a new venue this year, one that doesn't have water on the closing hole. So to keep the traditional champion's leap alive, organizers put in a temporary plunge pool near the 18th. Next year, Tom Doak… pic.twitter.com/xuUSpDHmbB

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) April 20, 2026

Career Grand Slam... maybe?

The LPGA considers the women's career Grand Slam as winning four of the five different majors during her career. If an athlete were to win all five majors, they would be considered to have completed the Super Career Grand Slam. Many news outlets don't consider winning four of the five majors the career Grand Slam, remaining adamant that a player must win all five majors to achieve the feat.

Still, in the LPGA's eyes, In Gee Chun, Minjee Lee and Anna Nordqvist could each complete the career Grand Slam with a win this weekend.

Top amateurs in the world descend on Houston

Eight amateurs will tee it up alongside the pros at Memorial Park, including the top four in the World Amateur Golf Ranking: No. 1 Kiara Romero, No. 2 Paula Martin Sampedro, No. 3 Andrea Revuelta and No. 4 Farah O'Keefe. Also playing in the top 10 are No. 7 Asterisk Talley, who suffered a devastating loss at the Augusta National Women's Amateur earlier this month, and No. 8 Megha Ganne.

Can Korda win her third?

World No. 2 Nelly Korda has the opportunity to win the third major of her career and second at the Chevron this week. One would think with the way she has been playing, she's got a good chance at it too.

Korda has played four times on tour this season and finished no lower than second. She won her first outing in January at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and has since finished solo second at the Fortinet Founders Cup and Ford Championship before finishing T-2 a couple weeks ago at the Aramco Championship.

Nelly Korda started her 2026 LPGA season with 4 straight top-2 finishes.

Per @EliasSports she's the 3rd player since 1980 to begin a season with 4+ finishes of either 1st or 2nd.

The other two - Karrie Webb in 2000 & Annika Sorenstam in 2001 - won the first major of the year.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) April 20, 2026

Stacy Lewis takes a final bow at four months pregnant

Stacy Lewis is expected to play in her final LPGA event ever this week, saying farewell to the sport while four months pregnant with her second child.

The 41-year-old joined the LPGA Tour in 2009 and has 13 career wins, racking up 118 career top 10s, 184 career top 25s and $14.7 million in official career earnings. Lewis hasn't played on tour since October of last year, when she finished T-32 at the Lotte Championship. In all, she made 16 starts and eight cuts in 2025 — what was supposed to be her farewell season.

Lewis says being pregnant has helped her golf swing and pregnancy hormones have eased typical aches and pains, but she was planning to retire even before a surprise positive pregnancy test after struggling with infertility and going through IVF for three years.

A two-time major winner, including the 2011 edition of this tournament — then the Kraft Nabisco Championship, Lewis' legacy extends beyond her resume. She has been a key advocate for paid maternity leave and protections for fertility treatments on tour.

Lewis' husband, Gerrod Chadwell, is the head coach for Texas A&M's women's golf team. He will be on her bag this week.

Hannah Green is on a tear

Australia's Hannah Green is looking for her second major win this week, and she is arguably the hottest player in the field. She has won four times since March 1: the HSBC Women's World Championship, the Women's Australian Open, the Australian WPGA Championship and last weekend's JM Eagle LA Championship.

As mentioned earlier, she'll have a seasoned Memorial Park caddie on her bag in David Buhai, and with a crazy amount of momentum on her side, it could very well be Green vs. Korda in the final stretch on Sunday afternoon.

Playoff on the horizon?

Speaking of Sunday afternoon, will we see another playoff this year? Since 2015, The Chevron Championship has produced the most playoffs of the five women's majors. Six editions have gone to extra holes to decide the champion.