First look at LPGA major's temporary plunge pool for winning jump

The best-known tradition in women’s professional golf began on a whim.

Amy Alcott’s spontaneous jump into a murky pond near the 18th green at Mission Hills Country Club sparked a celebration that has carried on for nearly 40 years. With the Chevron Championship moving to a new home in 2026, fans wondered if the traditional champion’s leap would continue. Especially given the lack of water on the finishing hole at Houston’s Memorial Park.

With the addition of a temporary plunge pool to the right of the 18th, the show will go on – at least if the winner is willing.

“The main driver was the fact that we’d already ordered a bath robe,” said Executive Director Glenn Weckerlin, somewhat half-jokingly, of the reason behind the new pool.

“Not to say that it’s a fair comparison,” he continued. “Augusta’s got a Green Jacket and we’ve got a bath robe. All kidding aside, you’re on 18th green, what are we going to do to the champion if we don’t have a bath robe? It’s just a thing. People are used to seeing it. Well, if you’re going to give a bath robe, you better have a pond.”

A temporary plunge pool was put in by the 18th green at Memorial Park.

As soon as played wrapped up at this year’s Texas Children’s Houston Open on March 29, work began on digging a plunge pool to the right of the 18th green. With a guaranteed finish in three weeks, the pool is 15 feet by 10 feet. Tournament organizers were still working on the finishing touches on Monday.

The cost of the new temporary addition: roughly $60,000.

Fans will be able to sit on the surrounding deck all week, though a section will be roped off for media on Sunday. Fans will not be able to lounge in the pool, however, as is the case at the Diamondbacks stadium in Phoenix.

It's unlikely, given the position of the pool and its depth, that anyone will run and jump in, as has been tradition. Rather than cannon-balls it could be more like a winning wade-in, which is not unprecedented. Pat Hurst chose to wade in at Mission Hills in 1998 because she couldn't swim.

After the 2026 champion has been crowned, work will begin on building a larger, permanent water hazard by the 18th green, with architect Tom Doak returning to redesign the finishing hole, including the green.

Rendering of the 18th green at Memorial Park after the Tom Doak redesign for 2027.

It was important to the LPGA to find a way to carry on the tradition, with a spokesperson noting that an informal survey of players found that many wanted it kept alive.

In 2023, the Chevron Championship controversially moved from the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California, to the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at the Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. Players leaped into a muddy pond on the 18th at the Nicklaus Course, where a gator net was installed for peace of mind.

After three editions there, the event moved once again to Memorial Park, a city-owned course that ranks eighth on Golfweek’s best public access courses in Texas.

Memorial Park first hosted the Houston Open in 1947 and enjoyed a long stretch from 1951 to 1963. After undergoing a $34 million renovation, funded by the Astros Golf Foundation and designed by Doak, the PGA Tour returned to Memorial Park in the fall of 2020.

After Gary Woodland’s inspirational win at the Houston Open, fans will notice several changes for the first women’s major of the season. In addition to the temporary pool, the rough will go from 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches, and the course will play to a par 72, with both Nos. 1 and 14 changing from par 4s to par 5s.

Nelly Korda of the United States jumps into the water after winning The Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods on April 21, 2024 in The Woodlands, Texas.

The stage is set for the start of a new chapter for a tournament that dates to 1972, and after five years, was elevated to a major.

The top five players in the world are all winners this season. World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul and past champion Nelly Korda, currently No. 2, headline the field in Houston. Korda won the first tournament of 2026, and Thitikul won the second back home in Thailand, making it the first time since the Rolex Rankings debuted in 2026 that the top two players in the world had won the first two events of a season.

After a six-week break, Korda went on to finish runner-up in three consecutive LPGA events, making the 2024 Chevron champ one of the hottest players on tour.

No one is hotter than Aussie Hannah Green, however, who comes into this week fresh off a victory at the JM Eagle LA Championship, her fourth win worldwide in 2026.

"My head will probably be quite big still," said Green of her arrival in Houston, "so I feel like I need to bring myself back down to earth."

A total of 10 past Chevron champions are in the field, including newlywed Lexi Thompson, who has stepped away from full-time golf and Stacy Lewis, who retired at the end of last year but will play close to home once more in Texas before giving birth to her second child.

“I think it’s going to be an amazing test,” said Lewis of Chevron's new home.

A plush robe and plunge pool await.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LPGA Chevron Championship adds temporary plunge pool for winning jump