JM Eagle LA Championship Provides Last Dress Rehearsal Before First LPGA Major

With the 2026 Masters entering our rearview mirrors, majors season rolls on with the LPGA's Chevron Championship on tap for next week. But before we can look ahead to Houston, we must turn our attention to the city of angels for the JM Eagle LA Championship.

The LPGA went on a brief hiatus during Masters Week, and quite a few of the world's best made the most of their time away. Stars like Charley Hull and Rose Zhang showed love to Augusta National, whereas some, like Gen Z queen Alexa Pano, took a quick Coachella detour before heading down to LA!

I'm actually obsessed with the juxtaposition of which players went to what cultural event. It feels reminiscent of Barbenheimer in 2023—two opposite ends of the pop culture spectrum coming together to be celebrated over the same weekend. What a time to be alive!

How epic of a story would it be to have a player caddie for someone at the par 3 contest on Wednesday, fly to the desert to see sick headliners like fellow golf sicko Justin Bieber, and then make the cut the following week. I know there's a pro out there who's capable, and I need her to reveal herself because the content ideas I have...boy oh boy.

But back to business.

The Field

The 144-player field will go head-to-head at El Caballero Country Club for one of the biggest non-major purses on Tour of $3.75 million.

Defending champion Ingrid Lindblad is set to headline a field that is missing some familiar faces. Both top-ranked players Jeeno Thitikul and Nelly Korda will not tee it up this week. Lindblad is joined by the other four 2026 winners on Tour so far: Hannah Green, Mi Hyang Lee, Hyo Joo Kim and Lauren Coughlin.

RELATED: The LPGA Returns, but Without Two of Its Biggest Stars

Fan-favorite rapping golfer Gigi Stoll, who unfortunately lost her card during Q School back in December, is back in the mix this week after Monday qualifying!

With a birdie on the first playoff hole, Stoll got it done shooting a 4-under round of 68.

Image from Gigi Stoll's Instagram story.

Another name to look for on the leaderboard is Miss. Asterisk Talley, who is making her first start after ANWA. Though it didn't go the way she wanted, making a devastating 7 on the par-3 12th hole, Talley showed a lot of grit in speaking to the media after a round like that. She earned a lot of fans after that, and I think people are eager to see her more and more.

TV/Streaming Times

Catch all the action this week live on Golf Channel. All times are EST.

Thursday, April 16: 6:00pm – 9:00pm (Golf Channel Live)

Friday, April 17: 6:00pm – 9:00pm (Golf Channel Live)

Saturday, April 18: 6:00pm – 9:00pm (Golf Channel Live)

Sunday, April 19: 6:00pm – 9:00pm (Golf Channel Live)

RELATED: Asterisk Talley, Kiara Romero to Headline U.S. Curtis Cup Lineup