The 2026 LPGA Tour officially teed off on Thursday, when 39 top-ranked golfers began competing for a piece of this year's $2.1 million HGV Tournament of Champions purse.

Following Thursday's first round, No. 17 Nasa Hataoka (Japan) led the field with a 6-under 66 performance, with world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand), No. 11 Lottie Woad (England), No. 24 Linn Grant (Sweden), and No. 53 Chanettee Wannasaen (Thailand) chasing her just one shot behind.

Defending Tournament of Champions winner No. 27 A Lim Kim (South Korea) enters Friday's second round three strokes back.

Leading a US contingent that includes No. 13 Angel Yin, No. 25 Lauren Coughlin, and No. 49 Lilia Vu is 2025 Tournament of Champions runner-up No. 2 Nelly Korda, who capped Thursday trailing Hataoka by two shots.

"Overall, I'm happy with my round. [It's only] Thursday, so hopefully, I can continue building momentum going into the next three days," said the 27-year-old US star. "But [I] can't complain."

Featuring 16 of the Top 25 golfers, including 2024 champion No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and 2023 winner No. 23 Brooke Henderson (Canada), the 2026 LPGA season-opening tournament pairs pros with amateur celebrities including USWNT legend Brandi Chastain and golf icon Annika Sörenstam.

How to watch the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions

Live coverage of the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions airs at 11:30 AM ET on Friday and 3 PM ET on Saturday on the Golf Channel, before NBC broadcasts the LPGA season opener's final round at 2 PM ET on Sunday.

Nasa Hataoka dominated the competition at Wilshire Country Club to win the LA Open by five strokes Sunday.

The 23-year-old entered the final round with a four-stroke lead after Jin Young Ko’s bogey-filled third round allowed Hataoka to move into first place by herself.

Hataoka finished at 15-under 269, just one stroke shy of the tournament record set by Brooke Henderson in 2021. Consistent golf helped Hataoka clinch her sixth LPGA Tour title as the only golfer to shoot in the 60s during all four days of competition.

“I did have a lead, but obviously this course, this challenging course, you never know what’s going to happen,” Hataoka said following her win. “I was able to focus until the last putt.”

Hannah Green of Australia fired a final-round 68 to finish five strokes behind Hataoka, while Madelene Sagstrom rounded out the top of the leaderboard with a 7 under.

Jin Young Ko carded five birdies to finish with a 7-under 64 and secure a share of the lead alongside Nasa Hataoka at the DIO Implant LA Open on Friday.

Hataoka had a strong back nine during the second round at the Wilshire Country Club, birdieing her final three holes for a total of seven birdies and four bogeys to meet Ko at 7-under. Ko birdied holes No. 11-14 and notched her eighth of the day on the 17th to match Hataoka at the top of the LA Open leaderboard after two rounds.

Play was delayed for an hour and 15 minutes due to rain damage Thursday night, with 18 players unable to complete their rounds because of darkness.

“The wind was pretty strong,” Hataoka said. “The greens are pretty tight, narrow. So my plan was to hit the green, not try to be too aggressive. On the back nine, the wind kind of got weaker, so I was able to hit at the pin.”

Hannah Green sits two strokes behind Ko and Hataoka after firing a bogey-free 67, while Minjee Lee is three strokes back.

The third round begins Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel.

Nasa Hataoka is adding to her win total.

The 22-year-old shot a final-round 4-under 67 to finish at 16-under and claim the title at the Walmart Northwest Arkansas Championship. Minjee Lee finished second, just one shot back of Hataoka.

The two started the day tied at 12-under, with Lee finishing with a final-round 68.

It’s Hataoka’s fifth title on the LPGA Tour and her second of 2021. In all, she made just two bogeys in 54 holes.

Saturday saw Hataoka nail her second ace in as many days, becoming just the fifth player in LPGA Tour history to make two hole-in-ones in the same tournament.

“Overall I was solid all three days,” Lee said. “I missed a couple of birdie opportunities today that I probably should have made. Under the circumstances Nasa did play really well today. I’m just disappointed with my second shot on 18, but I still had a great week.”

Nasa Hataoka was declared the winner of the 2021 Marathon LPGA Classic after the tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Hataoka held a six-shot lead going into the final round of the tournament in Sylvania, Ohio. The last day of the tournament was ultimately canceled after inclement weather soaked the course.

“Knowing everybody is working really, really hard to try to get this to a 72-hole tournament, I wish it would’ve been able to do it, but with this weather it was really hard,” Hataoka said.

The 2021 Marathon LPGA Classic marked Hataoka’s fourth tour victory.