ORLANDO, Fla. — The first event of the 2026 season gets underway on Thursday in Orlando, Fla., as several of the world’s best athletes descend upon Lake Nona Golf and Country Club for the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. The field is comprised of 39 of the LPGA Tour’s top talents who have won events over the past two seasons, including some of the game’s superstars like Charley Hull, Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, as well as 44 celebrity participants who are playing in their own separate modified Stableford competition.

Take a deeper look at just a couple of the featured groups who will be teeing it up on Thursday at the Tour’s inaugural 2026 event.

Thursday, 9:35 a.m. – Nelly Korda/Kevin Millar/Robbie Amell

Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 2 Nelly Korda s in the field this week at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions for the eighth consecutive year. Even though she has yet to pick up a victory at the season-opening tournament, Lake Nona Golf and Country Club has continually proven to be one of Korda’s most fertile hunting grounds. The 27-year-old has never finished worse than T16 in Orlando, tallying five top-five results in her seven previous starts in this event, one of which was a solo second that came last year when Korda finished two strokes behind eventual champion A Lim Kim, who posted a four-day total of 20-under. That runner-up performance was one of nine top-10 finishes that the major champion recorded in 2025, a year that also saw Korda make 19 of 19 cuts and finish fifth in the Race to the CME Globe. She ended the season at or near the top of the rankings in strokes gained off the tee (1, +0.96), par-5 scoring average (1, 4.55), scoring average (69.44) and both birdie or better percentage (2, 26.21 percent) and birdie or better average per round (2, 4.72). But Korda’s win column remained without a tally, something that the 15-time LPGA Tour winner is hungry to rectify in 2026 and something that just might happen at Lake Nona, where the Floridian won the Gainbridge LPGA back in 2021.

Kevin Millar is a former MLB athlete who played for the Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays throughout his career. He was both a first baseman and an outfielder and was a member of the Red Sox team that won the World Series in 2004.

Robbie Amell is a Canadian film and television actor who has had roles in “The DUFF,” “Code 8” and “EXmas.” Amell has also appeared in TV shows like “The Tomorrow People,” “The X-Files,” “The Flash” and, most recently, “Upload.” The 37-year-old is an avid fan of both hockey and golf, even attending the CPKC Women’s Open in 2025.

Thursday, 9:46 a.m. – Jeeno Thitikul/Mardy Fish/Taylor Twellman

Last season was the year of Jeeno Thitikul in many ways, as the 22-year-old won three times, one of which was a successful title defense at the CME Group Tour Championship, finished the year as No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings and earned Rolex Player of the Year honors. In addition to those accolades, she was also the Race to the CME Globe champion, secured the Vare Trophy after finishing 2025 with the lowest season-long scoring average and made over $7.5 million in official earnings. Along with her three victories, the Thailand native collected 11 other top-10 results in her 20 total starts, four of which were T2s or better and two of which came in major championships at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (T4) and The Amundi Evian Championship (2). While she has qualified for the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions every year since joining the LPGA Tour in 2022, Thitikul has never before teed it up at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, making this week’s event her tournament debut. And if the first tournament of 2026 looks anything like what ultimately transpired for Thitikul last year, the learning curve she will face at what can be a tricky venue this week at the Tournament of Champions isn’t likely to be a steep one for the world No. 1.

Mardy Fish is a former professional tennis player who won six titles on the ATP Tour and won the silver medal in singles at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He is a two-time winner of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in the Celebrity Division, taking home the title in 2021 and 2023 in the modified Stableford competition.

Taylor Twellman played professional soccer for 12 years, most famously doing so for the New England Revolution in the MLS league. The now 45-year-old won the Major League Soccer MVP and MLS Golden Boot awards in 2005 and was also a member of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team from 2002 to 2008.

For a full list of tee times, please click here. For more information on how to watch the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, please click here.

Featured Groups: 2026 Hilton Grand Vacation Tournament of Champions

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