The Ford Championship only arrived on the LPGA calendar in 2024 at Seville G&CC, where Nelly Korda completed a historic hat-trick of wins. In 2025, Hyo Joo Kim came from four back to force a playoff and sink the winning birdie putt. The 2026 edition returns to Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler for the third edition. The $2.25M event kicks off on March 26, with the world’s top golfers ready to compete.

1. Jeeno Thitikul

Jeeno Thitikul has eight career wins and $17.8M in official career earnings. In 2025, she won thrice. At the Ford Championship, Thitikul finished 4th at -20, just two shots outside the playoff between Hyo Joo Kim and Lilia Vu.

In 2026, Thitikul already has a win on the board. She won the Honda LPGA Thailand title in February, shooting a second-round 63 en route to a -24 finish. The #1 followed that with T31 at Singapore and T14 at the Fortinet Founders Cup. She sits third in CME points with 671, having slipped from first.

2. Nelly Korda

Nelly Korda has $17.8 million in official career earnings. The 27-year-old won the 2024 inaugural Ford Championship at Seville G&CC, finishing at -20 with a closing round to claim her 11th career LPGA victory. It was the third consecutive win that year. June 15, 2018 – Belmont, Michigan, USA – Nelly Korda of Bradenton, Florida follows her shot from the 12th tee during the second round of the Meijer LPGA Golf Damen Classic golf tournament at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, MI, USA Friday, June 15, 2018. Meijer LPGA Classic – Round Two PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY – ZUMAn230 20180615_zaa_n230_1187 Copyright: xAmyxLemusx

In 2025, Korda was T22 at the Ford Championship, carding rounds of 67, 65, 73, and 69 for a -14 total. She entered the weekend in the top three, but a third-round 73 cost her title defense. She didn’t win the entire year. Now, in 2026, she comes prepared.

Korda won the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and finished runner-up at the Fortinet Founders Cup the week before this event. She enters with back-to-back top-two finishes and is one of the most in-form players in the field. As the 2024 winner, she has already proven she can close at this event. Can she do the same again?

3. Charley Hull

Charley Hull has won three LPGA tournaments, made about $11 million, and finished in the top 10 more than 40 times. She came to the 2024 Ford Championship in excellent shape after finishing in the top 10 the week before. But she didn’t really compete on Sunday and ended up in the top 20.

Hull was in the lead after the first round with a 9-under 63, but she later said she had left many shots out there. In the end, she finished tied for 11th at 17-under, and her challenge faded in the final round as Hyo Joo Kim surged.

She made it into the top three in the world for the first time in her career in 2026. This season, she has one top-10 finish in two starts and $78,300 in earnings. With this momentum, she sure will put on an excellent show this coming weekend.

4. Miyu Yamashita

Miyu Yamashita has won two LPGA events, made $3.6 million, and finished in the top 10 13 times. She is yet to win the Ford Championship. Last year, she missed the cut, and in 2024, she didn’t participate.

Yamashita won the 2025 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award after a season in which he won twice and always did well. That run put her in the top five in the world before her second LPGA season even started.

She has one top-10 finish in her first few races in 2026 and has made $92,000. She comes with a short course history but a strong track record of winning. She sits at world No. 4, trailing the CME Points leader by just 16 points, making every event this season a direct race for the title.

5. Lydia Ko

Lydia Ko has decent finishes at the Ford Championship. In 2025, she finished tied for sixth at Whirlwind Golf Club, shooting four rounds in the 60s, including a final round of 67. She finished sixth.

In the first edition, Ko again showed how comfortable she was on this course, especially with an eight-under 64 in the second round. She put 15 under on the leaderboard and finished 13th. Ko is still one of the most reliable picks in this field because she always scores and manages the course well.

The winner might be from these five, or someone might surprise us altogether! Who are you picking as your winner for the 2026 Ford Championship?