The winner’s leap at the Chevron Championship has survived another venue change, but this time, it has a permanent home. Months after Nelly Korda insisted that abandoning the celebration could mean losing it forever, Memorial Park has completed the pond beside its 18th green. This gives the LPGA major a lasting setting for one of golf’s most recognizable traditions.

The development brings an end to the temporary arrangement used during the 2026 championship, when organizers installed a plunge pool to ensure the winner could continue the customary celebration.

Nelly Korda had already addressed the debate before the 2026 Chevron Championship began. Speaking ahead of the tournament, the American acknowledged that moving the championship to another venue had created mixed reactions about the future of its signature celebration.

However, she believed abandoning it altogether would be a mistake.

“If I’m hoisting the trophy, then I’m jumping in,” Korda said after her win. “I’m going to keep the tradition alive. Everyone is going to have their own opinion. My opinion is if you kill a tradition, it’s going to be gone forever.

She also praised Chevron and the LPGA for making an effort to preserve the tradition, despite the temporary setup not being identical to the original Poppie’s Pond.

“I still give props to Chevron and to the LPGA for wanting to keep that tradition alive,” she added.

Korda also recognized that the temporary pool was part of a larger plan to create a better setting for future champions. She made her own intentions clear, regardless of what people thought about the new arrangement.

“But at the end of the day, if I’m hoisting the trophy, like I’m going to jump in.”

Her comments came during the April 21 pre-tournament media availability, before the championship got underway. They are particularly relevant now because the permanent pond was already in the works at that point. The completed project therefore represents the next stage of the plan she publicly supported.

Nelly Korda also followed through on her promise. She went on to deliver a commanding performance at Memorial Park, winning the championship on April 26 with a four-round total of 18-under par. Her rounds of 65, 65, 70 and 70 gave her a five-shot victory over Patty Tavatanakit and Ruoning Yin, who shared second place at 13 under.

It was her second Chevron Championship title, following her 2024 victory. It was her third major championship overall. After securing the trophy, she jumped into the temporary pool, keeping the celebration alive at the tournament’s new home.

The result also made her the first player since Amy Alcott in 1991 to win the major wire-to-wire while holding at least a share of the lead after every round.

However, Memorial Park’s new pond will change more than the winner’s celebration.

According to Golfweek’s report by Cameron Jourdan, the permanent pond has been constructed along the right side of Memorial Park’s 18th green. Course architect Tom Doak returned to redesign the finishing hole. The new layout intends to accommodate the water feature while retaining the challenge of the closing stretch.

The redesign also changes the shape of the putting surface. The former front-right portion of the 18th green has been removed. This leaves a narrower entrance on the left and a larger putting area toward the back. Two bunkers near the front add another layer of difficulty for players who miss their approach shots too far left.

Water will now influence play on all four finishing holes. That makes the new pond particularly interesting from a competitive standpoint. An approach that drifts too far right on the 18th can find water, while players who try to avoid it by favoring the left side must account for the bunkers guarding that section.

In other words, the feature that will eventually welcome the champion after the final putt will also threaten players before they have a chance to celebrate.

The change will be relevant to both the LPGA and PGA Tour. Memorial Park hosts the Chevron Championship as well as the Texas Children’s Houston Open. This means that the redesigned 18th will influence two significant professional golf events. The course’s new finishing-hole configuration will be in use from 2027 onward.

The artificial pond for 2026 was a practical solution, although its appearance sparked debate among golf fans. Some questioned whether a swimming-pool-style structure could preserve the atmosphere of the traditional celebration. Others raised concerns about its depth and whether it was suitable for a celebratory jump.

The LPGA nevertheless achieved its immediate objective. The winner had somewhere to celebrate, and the temporary arrangement bought organizers time to complete the permanent redesign.

Korda was not the only prominent player who supported keeping the tradition alive. Stacy Lewis, the 2011 Chevron champion, also spoke about the emotional significance of the celebration before the 2026 tournament.

Lewis recalled that the moment she jumped into the water remained more memorable than much of the formal trophy presentation.

“I’ve told a lot of people that I don’t remember getting the trophy. A lot of things I don’t remember about that ceremony. But I remember the jump and what that felt like and how cold that water was in California,” Lewis said.

Her recollection offers an important perspective on why the LPGA and tournament organizers were willing to build a temporary pool while waiting for the permanent feature.

How the tradition survived two previous venue changes

The history of the winner’s leap helps explain why Nelly Korda and Lewis were so keen to preserve it.

The celebration began in 1988, when Amy Alcott spontaneously jumped into the pond beside the 18th green at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. What started as an unscripted celebration gradually became one of the tournament’s most recognizable traditions.

The pond eventually became known as Poppie’s Pond in 2006, named after Terry Wilcox, the tournament director whose nickname was Poppie. The celebration also gained momentum through subsequent champions, including Alcott’s return to the water after her 1991 victory.

However, the tradition faced its first major test when the championship moved from Mission Hills to The Club at Carlton Woods in 2023.

Carlton Woods had a different water feature, and organizers had to make adjustments to accommodate the celebration.

Lilia Vu became the first champion to jump into the water at the new venue after winning the 2023 championship. Her celebration demonstrated that the tradition could survive a change of location.

The 2026 move to Memorial Park presented a different challenge. Unlike the previous venues, the Houston course did not have a suitable pond beside its 18th green.

The temporary pool became the immediate answer. But there were concerns around it.

Grace Kim, for example, suggested she had hoped the tradition might end after the championship left Carlton Woods. She also questioned whether the shallow pool would make jumping into it dangerous.

Hannah Green and amateur Asterisk Talley were among those who expressed concerns about the depth. Meanwhile, Lilia Vu supported the effort to keep the tradition alive.

Nelly Korda’s comments stood out amid the differing opinions. Rather than focus on whether the temporary pool matched the original pond, she emphasized the importance of retaining the celebration itself.