World's Best Women Golfers Heading to the Bay Area for 2026 Fortinet Founders Cup ποΈββοΈ
Jeeno Thitikul, Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang and defending champ Yealimi Noh are among the stars set to compete at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club March 19-22. This event honors the 13 LPGA Founding Members! π
β³ Get ready, golf fans! The 2026 Fortinet Founders Cup Field Coming Together | News | LPGA
Thitikul, Korda, Noh, Zhang among names expected to compete at Sharon Heights
MENLO PARK, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2026) - Oh my goodness, you all! The 2026 Fortinet Founders Cup field is absolutely STACKED and I am HERE for it! π On March 19-22, the LPGA Tour will head to Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club in Menlo Park for the event that annually celebrates the 13 Founding Members of the LPGA, who in 1950 created what is the longest-running women's professional sports league in the world. How cool is that?!
Early commitments include Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, who has been the top player in the world since August 2025, and No. 2 Nelly Korda, winner of the LPGA Tour's season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. π₯ Nearby Stanford University is expected to be represented by alumnae Aline Krauter, Andrea Lee, Albane Valenzuela and Rose Zhang, while San Jose State University alumna Natasha Andrea Oon will make her debut as an LPGA Tour member at the Fortinet Founders Cup. Love seeing these Stanford ladies represent! πͺ
Other notable names currently in the preliminary field are LPGA Tour winners Lydia Ko, who calls the Bay Area home, and Yealimi Noh, the defending Fortinet Founders Cup champion who grew up in the East Bay town of Concord, as well as Redwood Shores native Lucy Li. They will be joined by major champions Celine Boutier, Allisen Corpuz, Brooke Henderson, Ariya Jutanugarn, A Lim Kim, Grace Kim, Jennifer Kupcho, Minjee Lee, Mao Saigo, Lilia Vu and Miyu Yamashita. Entries will officially close on March 10.
ποΈ Tickets are available for purchase at SeatGeek.com. Daily tickets start at $64 for General Admission, with weekly passes starting at $139. Pioneer Pavilion hospitality tickets are $299 for daily admission and $899 for weekly access. The Pioneer Pavilion provides premium access to an open-air structure between the 14th and 16th greens and features shared food and beverage services, including bar options, as well as complimentary off-site parking.
And here is something amazing for families! Juniors aged 17 and under will receive complimentary general admission with the purchase of an adult ticket. π This program is presented by tournament partner Armis, the cyber exposure management and security company which partners with Fortinet in the cybersecurity space. Together, Fortinet and Armis enable global organizations to streamline security programs and strengthen cyber resilience. For more information on junior tickets, visit TheFoundersLPGA.com.
Volunteer opportunities are available for fans who want to participate in the week's festivities. Click here for more information.
Additionally, group hospitality and sponsorship opportunities for the 2026 Fortinet Founders Cup are available by contacting Tommy Austin at tommy.austin@lpga.com or Fortinet Marketing at usevents@fortinet.com.
As the title partner of the Founders Cup, Fortinet has been the cybersecurity leader for 25 years, with the biggest overall cybersecurity patent portfolio in the industry, as well as the largest Artificial Intelligence (AI) patent portfolio. With more than 920,000 lifetime customers, Fortinet continues to be among the most deployed, most patented and most validated cybersecurity companies in the world. Together with the LPGA, Fortinet aims to further advance the game of golf and inspire future generations and champion opportunities for women on and off the course. π
The LPGA's return to Northern California marks a longstanding tradition of women's golf in the area. Previously, the Bay Area hosted the 2021 U.S. Women's Open, played at The Olympic Club, and the 2016 U.S. Women's Open, played at CordeValle, as well as the 2023 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, played at TPC Harding Park. The last non-major, standard-eligibility LPGA Tour event to be held in Northern California was the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship, contested from 2018-2022 at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City.
Media who wish to attend and cover the competition should apply for credentials at www.lpgamediacredentials.com.
Cannot wait to see all these incredible women compete! Who else is excited?! ποΈββοΈβ¨