feature-image

USA Today via Reuters

feature-image

USA Today via Reuters

The LPGA Tour will host the first major of the 2026 season in Houston, Texas, in the next few hours. But the chances of the first round of The Chevron Championship being smooth-sailing look bleak. Especially because of the weather conditions at Memorial Park Golf Course over the last couple of days. But Beth Ann Nichols is hopefully the rain gods will be merciful over the next four days.

The Golfweek reporter tweeted, “Evacuated for a third time in two days. More storms approaching Memorial Park. Fingers crossed it’s smooth sailing from here.”

ADVERTISEMENT

As per Accuweather, there was a 90% possibility of precipitation on the Wednesday of the major. They also showed a 54% chance of thunderstorms on the golf course. While the rainfall wasn’t that heavy, it was still consistent enough to disrupt practice. So much so that Nichols confirmed that the course has been evacuated thrice over the last couple of days.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to the meteorologists. The region of Houston, Texas, is known for experiencing precipitation during the month of April. The tournament officials didn’t do a great job of planning the event. Had they been aware, they wouldn’t have chosen the Memorial Park Golf Course to host a major at this time of the year.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nevertheless, it seems that they can’t do anything at this point in the tournament. While it may not have begun yet, they are too close to the tee-off time to decide to change. All Nelly Korda & Co. can hope for is that the weather gods don’t disrupt the passage of play during the day through to Sunday.

If that does happen, then the LPGA Tour stars will have to go through the same experience they did last year.

ADVERTISEMENT

Not the first time rain could play a spoilsport in the Chevron Championship

Last year’s Chevron Championship was also hosted in Texas. The major was played at The Club at Carlton Woods, 40.7 miles away from Memorial Park Golf Course. The 51-minute ride between the venues might face a lot of delays this time of the year. That’s because both clubs experience a lot of precipitation in April.

ADVERTISEMENT

This time last year, the Chevron Championship had run into a lot of trouble. Long-lasting rainfall, loud thunderstorms, and flooded fairways caused huge delays in the event. And that didn’t leave the LPGA Tour stars too pleased.

ADVERTISEMENT

Charley Hull could foresee a poor major after she witnessed the shocking conditions of the venue on the Wednesday of the event. She confessed that the course might become a nightmare if the conditions don’t improve.

And her incredible foresight came true. The 2025 Chevron Championship saw a few suspended rounds. By the second day, the players had already witnessed rain, thunder, and lighting. Fortunately, the event didn’t need to be extended beyond the scheduled four days. Could the 2026 Chevron Championship also experience the same fate?

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Molin Sheth

2,047 Articles

Molin Sheth is a senior Golf writer at EssentiallySports and a key member of the ES Golf Trends Desk. He brings strong editorial judgment and a data-driven approach to uncovering the game’s overlooked angles, delivering insightful play-by-play reporting across golf’s four major championships. As part of the EssentiallySports Journalistic Excellence Program, an in-house initiative that mentors and develops writers through expert guidance and rigorous training, Molin works closely with industry-leading mentors to bring clarity and depth to a sport where precision matters and every shot tells a story.

Know more

ADVERTISEMENT