2025 Chevron Championship Preview: Top Players in Form for First Major

One year ago, the only storyline going into the Chevron Championship was Nelly Korda and her streak. She had rattled off four wins in a row, and when she took the lead for the first time on Friday, the final outcome felt inevitable. By holding off Maja Stark, Lauren Coughlin, and Jeeno Thitikul on Sunday, Nelly would stretch the streak to five and grab her second career major victory.

Flash forward one year, and Nelly is still the top-ranked player in the world. She is still a favorite to win this week and is still playing at a very high level. As we enter this year’s edition of the Chevron Championship, however, Korda is one of many players to keep an eye on. The plot is thick with favorites, newcomers, and much, much more. Here’s what to watch for as the first women’s major of the year begins Thursday.

Is it Jeeno’s Time?

The 22-year-old Thai has firmly placed herself in the “best player to not win a major” category. It’s a category no golfer wants to spend much time in. If the top-10 fixture gets her biggest win of her career this week, it will come as a surprise to no one. As Justin Ray elegantly put it in this week’s episode of The Mixed Bag podcast, her “course fit is planet Earth.” Thitikul’s game has no weakness, but perhaps more important than her on-course skills is that she won’t put pressure on herself to bring home a win. If she does earn herself a late tee time on Sunday, you’ll see the same smiling, happy-go-lucky player we’ve seen over the past seven months, where she’s finished no worse than T-12.

More than Capable Newcomers

This year’s rookie class has taken no time to make its presence felt. Last weekend, Ingrid Lindblad took home her first LPGA win after just three starts this season. Japanese rookie Rio Takeda started the trend earlier this year with her win at the Blue Bay LPGA in China. A handful of others have come close with top-10 finishes from fellow Japanese rookies Miyu Yamashita, Akie Iwai, and Saki Baba, as well as Australian Cassie Porter. The Japanese newcomers, many of whom have polished their games in the professional ranks of the JLPGA, add to the already strong contingent from the country, including Ayaka Furue, Yuka Saso, Nasa Hataoka, and last year’s Rookie of the Year, Mai Saigo. Furue and Saso took home two majors last year, and it’s not a longshot for the Japanese players to best that number this year.

Top Players in Form

The injury bug has largely stayed away from the best of the best so far this year. The exception is, of course, Rose Zhang, who will not be playing this week as she deals with a nagging neck injury. Nine of the top 10 players in the Rolex Rankings have won or had a top-five finish so far this season. This week was never going to repeat the fervor around Nelly’s streak, but an abundance of talent and good form has it poised to be full of excitement. Women’s golf finds itself in a great spot to start its run of three majors over the next nine weeks.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.