The third playing of the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass begins Thursday at Whirlwind Golf Club. Just a week after winning the Fortinet Founders Cup, Hyo Joo Kim will seek to defend her title at the Ford Championship where, for the second consecutive week, she’ll take on an elite field that includes 22 of the top 25 in the Rolex Rankings. Here’s a look at some of the notable groups that will be teeing it up together on Thursday and Friday in Phoenix. All times are ET.

Thursday, 7:44 a.m., 10th tee; Friday, 12:39 p.m., 1st tee - Linn Grant, Lydia Ko, Lottie Woad

Grant will look to get her season back on track as she’s coming off her first missed cut of the year at the Fortinet Founders Cup. Ko also struggled to her worst finish of the season last week at the Founders Cup, but the LPGA Hall of Fame member could find a spark this week having had some success in Phoenix where she was tied for sixth in 2025. Woad is in the midst of her first, full year on the LPGA Tour and will make her tournament debut at the Ford Championship. Woad is enjoying a consistent start to the year in which she hasn’t finished worse than a tie for 15th in her first four starts of the season.

Thursday, 7:55 a.m., 10th tee; Friday, 12:50 p.m., 1st tee - Hyo Joo Kim, Lexi Thompson, Nelly Korda

All eyes will be on Kim for the second consecutive week after she went wire-to-wire at the Fortinet Founders Cup to win for the eighth time on the LPGA Tour. This week, Kim will try to notch back-to-back victories as she seeks to defend her title at the Ford Championship. Thompson is making her first start of the 2026 LPGA Tour season and first start as a newlywed, having tied the knot on March 7. Thompson was tied for third in Phoenix in 2024. Korda finished runner-up to Kim on Sunday at the Fortinet Founders Cup and will look to finish one better this week in Arizona where she won in 2024.

Thursday, 12:06 p.m., 1st tee; Friday, 7:11 a.m., 10th tee - Austin Ernst, Jessica Korda, Hailee Cooper

In just her second start since returning to the LPGA Tour, Ernst will tee it up for the first time at the Ford Championship. Ernst stepped away from full-time competition in 2023 and returned in January at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Championship. Jessica Korda is also making a return to the Tour and is playing in her first official LPGA Tour event since May 2023. Jessica Korda made an unofficial return to competition in December 2025 when she teed it up at the Grant Thornton Invitational alongside teammate Bud Cauley. Cooper is making her third start of her rookie year and seeking to make her first cut of the season.

Thursday, 1:34 p.m., 10th tee; Friday, 8:39 a.m., 1st tee - Yana Wilson, Lizette Salas, Ssu-Chia Cheng

Wilson is making the third start of her rookie season, having finished tied for 46th in her first tournament as a member at the Blue Bay LPGA followed by a missed cut at last week’s Founders Cup. Salas is making a long-awaited return to competition and will tee it up on the LPGA Tour for the first time since July 2024. Salas has dealt with an ongoing back injury in recent years and was tied for 45th at the Ford Championship in 2024. Cheng is teeing it up for the third time this season and looking for some momentum after opening her year with a tie for 60th at the Blue Bay LPGA and a missed cut at last week’s Founders Cup.

For a complete list of tee times for the opening round of the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass, click here.

How to watch:

Streaming:

Thursday, March 26 - Sunday, March 29: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET on golfchannel.com

Television:

Thursday, March 26 - Sunday, March 29: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. ET on Golf Channel

Featured Groups: 2026 Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass

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