Memorial Park<\/a>, a Houston muni that doesn\u2019t have water on the 18th hole. But the LPGA and tournament organizers heard from numerous players about the importance of the pond jump\u2019s legacy and so made short- and long-term plans to keep it alive. For the 2026 edition, organizers constructed a temporary plunge pool off to the right of the 18th green, measuring 15 feet by 10 feet and 4 1\/2 feet deep. If a ball goes into the pool during tournament play, players will get free relief in the same way they would if they hit an approach into a grandstand.<\/p>\nThe LPGA knows the makeshift pool is not a perfect solution and has already drawn a few eyeball rolls on social media, but given the time constraints, it was the most feasible solution. After the 2026 tournament, course architect Tom Doak will redesign the finishing hole with a permanent pond.<\/p>\n
![\"Temporary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/temp-plunge-pool.jpg\")
\n The temporary plunge pool on the 18th hole at Memorial Park<\/p>\n
LPGA<\/p>\n
![\"Rendering](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/18th-hole-rendering.jpg\")
\n Rendering of the 18th hole at Memorial Park after planned redesign<\/p>\n
LPGA<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a tradition matters, you find a way to honor it \u2014 and bring fans closer to it, too,\u201d the LPGA said in a statement to GOLF. \u201cThe winner\u2019s jump has become one of the most fun and distinctive traditions at The Chevron Championship, and what makes it especially meaningful is that it was created organically by the players themselves. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a nod to the championship\u2019s history, a bridge to the future and part of creating a more engaging fan experience by giving spectators a place to connect with and experience this tradition up close. And, as always, it is entirely up to the winning player whether she wants to take the plunge.\u201d <\/p>\n
Stacy Lewis made the jump into Poppie\u2019s Pond after winning the 2011 Chevron at Mission Hills. Lewis said that plunge, not how she played at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course, is what most sticks with her about her first major win.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been a lot of debate about the pond and the jump,\u201d Lewis said Tuesday at Memorial Park. \u201cI\u2019ve told a lot of people that I don\u2019t remember getting the trophy. A lot of things I don\u2019t remember about that ceremony. But I remember the jump and what that felt like and how cold that water was in California.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the LPGA and women\u2019s golf seek to grow in popularity, the importance of building traditions is crucial. Women\u2019s golf hasn\u2019t been good at that. The number of majors has gone from three to four to five. The LPGA Championship became the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship. Things get lost.<\/p>\n
But Lewis and other past champions are adamant that the leap into the pond should continue. She knows the temporary pool isn\u2019t an ideal solution but years down the road this spell won\u2019t be remembered \u2014 only the jump will.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it take, almost 20 years to develop the pond jump?\u201d Lewis said. \u201cTraditions don\u2019t just happen overnight. I just think it\u2019s so important that we keep it and that it\u2019s \u2014 is it a little bit different this year? Yes. Does it look great? I mean, it\u2019s up for debate, right? But somebody is still going to jump in there, and it\u2019s still going to be \u2014 when we look back on 10 years, we\u2019re going to put all these jumps together, and they\u2019re all going to look the same. So I just think we\u2019ve got to get through this year, but it has to continue.\u201d <\/p>\n
Lewis thought the temporary pond would \u201cbe bigger,\u201d but is pleased with the LPGA and Chevron\u2019s decision to keep the tradition in play. Lewis, who is 41 and retiring after this week, also believes the course will benefit from the addition coming in 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did a really good job of doing the best they could given the situation,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a lot better when we come back next year, and frankly, the 18th green is going to be a lot better, too. It\u2019s going to fit more with the golf course, and now, the last four finishing holes will all have water on them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Given the depth of the pool, there won\u2019t be any cannonballs this year, and the number of team members who go in with the winner will be limited. It\u2019s even possible that the victor could forgo wading into the temporary pool.<\/p>\n
But the LPGA\u2019s marquee star <\/a>won\u2019t even need to think about it.<\/p>\nNelly Korda jumped into the pond at Carlton Woods in 2024. Should she be the last woman standing this week at Memorial Park, there\u2019s no question, she\u2019s going in. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think when it comes to what people think about it, you\u2019re always going to be in a lose-lose situation,\u201d Korda said Tuesday. \u201cOnce you kill a tradition, it\u2019s killed forever. If you kind of look at it, maybe some people don\u2019t like it that it\u2019s at a different golf course, different venue. I still give props to Chevron and to the LPGA for wanting to keep that tradition alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that there is a bigger plan for it to be a better jump into Poppie\u2019s Pond. But at the end of the day, if I\u2019m hoisting the trophy, like I\u2019m going to jump in.\u201d<\/p>\n
And once the winner exits and puts on the tournament robe, the work will begin to ensure that tradition remains just that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2014 Traditions take years, sometimes decades, to take hold but they\u2019re a vital part of professional golf.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-544609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-golf","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}