The Chevron Championship has a new home in 2026, with the first women’s major of the golfing year is being played at Houston’s 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.
Nelly Korda gives verdict on Memorial Park after round one of the Chevron Championship
There was a lot of rain in the build-up to this major, which has severely affected the conditions out there. That didn’t affect Korda, however, who shot an opening round 65 to take the lead through round one.
Speaking after Thursday’s play, the former world number one shared her thoughts on the shape of the course: “Definitely had a little bit of mud on the ball. But, yeah, I mean, it’s not rolling out too far in the fairway so someone that’s hitting it longer definitely has an advantage. There are times where my pitch mark was right next to my ball.
“So you’re not seeing too much run-out. It’s definitely a second-shot golf course where you’re thinking about the misses or the bigger parts of the greens, where you can be aggressive, where you can’t be aggressive, and also in the back of your mind, okay, is short a better miss, is long better miss?
“Because 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 you’ll just feel a really big gust and all of a sudden it just lays off.
“So 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.”
Nelly Korda responds to Charley Hull’s comments on the course setup
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, “Long. You know, I think it should test every part of your game. I just think it should just play long and tough.”
She continued, “I mean, they’re dealing with a very saturated golf course so they can’t push it too far because you don’t 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.
“I 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 I’m a longer player. And then you have a couple shorter par-4s and a couple longer par-4s. That’s what I really like.
“I 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 it’s a wedge contest, to me that’s not very exciting.
“Like 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 you’re like okay this is a three-shotter today.”
It’s great to see that Korda doesn’t shy away from a challenge, and she’s been rewarded for that attitude with an opening round lead.
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