Nelly Korda shared her thoughts on the conditions at the Chevron Championship after the first day of play. The tournament, now held at Houston's Memorial Park, has faced challenges since its relocation in 2026.
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Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
The Chevron Championship has a new home in 2026, with the first womenâs major of the golfing year is being played at Houstonâs Memorial Park.
Until 2022, this event was played at Mission Hills, a place steeped in the traditions of this major championship. It has moved twice since then in an unpopular development.
The Chevron Championship has been poorer for it, with middling attendance and a real lack of identity. But what about the golf course itself?
Memorial Park hosted the Houston Open on the PGA Tour just a month ago, but how is it holding up for this LPGA major? Nelly Korda, who leads the Chevron Championship after one round, shared her honest thoughts.
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
There was a lot of rain in the build-up to this major, which has severely affected the conditions out there. That didnât affect Korda, however, who shot an opening round 65 to take the lead through round one.
Speaking after Thursdayâs play, the former world number one shared her thoughts on the shape of the course: âDefinitely had a little bit of mud on the ball. But, yeah, I mean, itâs not rolling out too far in the fairway so someone thatâs hitting it longer definitely has an advantage. There are times where my pitch mark was right next to my ball.
âSo youâre not seeing too much run-out. Itâs definitely a second-shot golf course where youâre thinking about the misses or the bigger parts of the greens, where you can be aggressive, where you canât be aggressive, and also in the back of your mind, okay, is short a better miss, is long better miss?
âBecause it was gusty out there where it may not seem like it, but through this golf course there are some openings in the trees where youâll just feel a really big gust and all of a sudden it just lays off.
Nelly Korda expressed her opinions on the course conditions at the Chevron Championship after the first day of competition.
The Chevron Championship is being held at Houston's Memorial Park in 2026.
The Chevron Championship moved from Mission Hills due to a decision to relocate the event, which has been met with mixed reactions from players and fans.
The Chevron Championship has experienced middling attendance since its relocation, indicating a struggle to maintain its identity and fan engagement.
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âSo being committed to your irons was also a big part of today because I had one on like I think 12 where I was between an eight and a seven and I went with the seven, but the wind completely laid off and I kind of just flew it through the green.â
The setup was tough for many players, which has sparked debate about how the golf course should play. Charley Hull said she loves to play a difficult course and see the players tested.
Korda weighed in on those comments when asked how she likes to see a course play. She said, âLong. You know, I think it should test every part of your game. I just think it should just play long and tough.â
She continued, âI mean, theyâre dealing with a very saturated golf course so they canât push it too far because you donât get the run-out. I think I like when par-5s are gettable. Where you have to hit two really good shots, and par-5s are gettable.
âI love when par-3s are tough, which a lot of them are. I had a hybrid into one and a 5-iron into another and Iâm a longer player. And then you have a couple shorter par-4s and a couple longer par-4s. Thatâs what I really like.
âI think when you make a golf courses really short, especially par-5s where everyone is laying it up the same exact area and at the end of the day itâs a wedge contest, to me thatâs not very exciting.
âLike the people that hit a really good drive and have the opportunity to go for it should be able to go for it and not where youâre like okay this is a three-shotter today.â
Itâs great to see that Korda doesnât shy away from a challenge, and sheâs been rewarded for that attitude with an opening round lead.