RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Major championships tend to bring out the best in the best players. That has been the case at the Chevron Championship, where World Golf Hall of Fame members and players of the year have been forged.
Thirteen Hall of Famers have won the tournament, formerly known as the ANA Inspiration, since its debut in 1972, and those 13 players have won the event 23 times. That includes three wins each for Amy Alcott, Betsy King and Annika Sorenstam. Juli Inkster and Karrie Webb each won the tournament twice.
As it’s being played for the 51st and final time in the desert this week, the field includes players who could easily join the Hall of Fame in the coming years and well as young and talented players who already have a Chevron title to their credit.
Here’s 10 players to watch in the Chevron Championship this week.
Jin Young Ko tees off at the fifth hole during the third round of the LPGA’s Hugel-Air Premia LA Open at Wilshire Country Club Friday, April 23, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Photo: Ashley Landis/Associated Press)
The 2019 Chevron Championship winner is playing the best golf on the planet right now. She has won six times in her last 11 starts, has played 34 consecutive rounds under par and had a string of 16 consecutive rounds in the 60s snapped in the second round last week in San Diego. She has solidified her spot as the No. 1 player in the world, and she will be on the leader board Sunday.
Lydia Ko hits from the 16th tee during the third round of the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Golf Club on January 29, 2022 in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
After ending a losing stretch on the LPGA with a win last year, Ko has already won on the tour this year and is seemingly in the mix each week. She also won the 2016 Chevron title and was a strong second last year with a course-record-tying 62 in the final round.
Patty Tavatanakit plays a shot on the fifth hole during her second round at the 2022 HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. (Photo: Paul Miller/Associated Press)
Tavatanakit’s performance at the 2021 Chevron Championship was dominating and she only won by two strokes because Lydia Ko shot 62 in the final round. The former UCLA golfer hasn’t won since, but her name has been popping up on LPGA leaderboards through 2022.
Brooke Henderson at the 2022 HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. (Photo: Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
Always popular with snowbirds in the Coachella Valley, the Canadian Henderson has missed that support the last two years with no fans on the Mission Hills course. She still almost won the 2020 title, falling in a three-way playoff with Mirim Lee. With the Maple Leafs flying at Mission Hills again, expect Henderson to climb the leader board.
Lexi Thompson hits from the 16th tee during the second round of the LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony Golf & Country Club on February 4, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Few people have played the Dinah Shore Tournament Course as well as Thompson through the years, with a win, a controversial playoff loss and four other finishes of seventh or better, all in the last eight years. She would embrace a second title at this tournament like few other golfers, and it would be a popular win with fans.
Inbee Park plays a shot from the third tee during her third round at the 2022 HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore, Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Photo: Paul Miller/Associated Press)
If it becomes a putting contest, bet on this World Golf Hall of Famer. Park won the 2013 title with a dazzling display of putting, and she lost an epic 2018 eight-hole, two-day playoff in 2018 to Pernilla Lindberg. She’s always a threat at this event.
Danielle Kang and caddie Olly Brett pose with the trophy after winning the 2022 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando. (Photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Kang has a surprising poor record at this major, with just one top-10 finish in 10 starts in the desert as a pro and an amateur. But she has been one of the game’s top players for two years in a row and is an excellent driver of the ball, something that is a requirement at the Shore Course.
Minjee Lee tees off during the second round of the 2022 JTBC Classic at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California. (Photo: Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
At 25, Lee’s star continues to rise on the LPGA. She’s won six titles, including her first major championship last year at the Evian Championship. She was second earlier this month at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and can now be considered a threat in every big LPGA event.
Leona Maguire of Ireland imitates a “selfie” as she poses with the trophy after winning the LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony Golf & Country Club on February 05, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
The Irish star made a run at the Chevron title last year, the start of a huge year for Maguire that included a dominant 5-0-0 record for Europe at the Solheim Cup. Already this year, Maguire has earned her first of what should be many LPGA wins. A major could be next.
Brittany Lincicome follows her shot from the 14th tee during the final round of the 2021 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational at Midland Country Club in Midland, Michigan. (Photo: Amy Lemus/NurPhoto via AP)
The only two-time winner of the tournament in the field, Lincicome last won the title in 2015. But her long game fits the course perfectly, and she’s aggressive enough to make some birdies and even eagles on the par-5s if she is playing well. She could join Amy Alcott, Betsy King and Annika Sorenstam as the only three-time winners of the event.
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