Founders Cup 2026 Betting Tips: 150/1 shot one of five for California

The LPGA returns to action with its first full-field event in the U.S. this season. It begins a four-week West Coast Swing in California, where the relocated Fortinet Founders Cup takes place at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club for the first time.

Our LPGA golf expert Jamie Worsley is, of course, back with his usual long-read preview for the tournament. Check out his Founders Cup 2026 Betting Tips below, where he has picked out five players to back ranging from 22/1 to 150/1 including last year's winner...

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You can bet on the tournament and check out the latest Founders Cup 2026 Odds over on betfred.com

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Founders Cup was first held in 2011 and has taken on a nomadic existence. Wildfire Golf Club (Arizona) was its original home, hosting the event until Mountain Ridge Country Club (New Jersey) took over for the 2021 edition.

Upper Montclair Country Club (New Jersey) then staged the tournament from 2022–2024, followed by Bradenton Country Club (Florida) in 2025. This week, the event returns to the West Coast at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club (California), making its debut as host.

Jin Young Ko is the most successful player in the championship's history, winning her three titles in 2019, 2021 and 2023. Australia's Karrie Webb is the only other player to record multiple wins, collecting the trophy in 2011 and 2014.

Last five winners:

• 2025 (Bradenton Country Club)

Winner: Yealimi Noh (-21)

Runner-up: Jin Young Ko (-17)

• 2024 (Upper Montclair Country Club)

Winner: Rose Zhang (-24)

Runner-up: Madelene Sagstrom (-22)

• 2023 (Upper Montclair Country Club)

Winner: Jin Young Ko (-13, playoff)

Runner-up: Minjee Lee (-13)

• 2022 (Upper Montclair Country Club)

Winner: Minjee Lee (-19)

Runner-up: Lexi Thompson (-17)

• 2021 (Mountain Ridge Country Club)

Winner: Jin Young Ko (-18)

Runner-up: Caroline Masson (-14)

Yealimi Noh came out on top in 2025, beating Jin Young Ko by an impressive four strokes to record her first LPGA victory. She returns to defend this week, and having been born and raised in California, she will do so in front of a home crowd.

THE COURSE

Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club

• Original architect / Year opened: Jack Fleming / 1963
• Latest renovation: Todd Eckenrode completed a large-scale renovation of the course in 2024, which included, among other things, a substantial tree-removal program designed to open up playing corridors
• Par / Yardage: Par 72 / 6542 yards
• Hole breakdown:
  • 4x par 3s (135-180 yards)
  • 10x par 4s (333-428 yards)
  • 4x par 5s (473-560 yards)
• Course style: An attractive, rolling parkland that features frequent elevation changes throughout. Whilst it is now more open in places since the renovation, trees still line most holes
• Fairways:
  • Generous, sloping bentgrass fairways can leave players with uneven lies
  • The rough isn't especially penal, with deep, smartly placed bunkers offering protection
  • Overhanging trees can block out approaches into the greens, requiring players to be strategic off the tee
• Greens:
  • Small (5,000 sq. ft.), elevated bentgrass greens that could run at up to a speedy 12 on the Stimpmeter
  • Often multi-tiered, the heavily contoured surfaces offer plenty of variety
  • With run-offs leading into short-grass chipping areas and bunkers, players will be punished for inaccuracy
• Defences: There are several out-of-bounds areas around this layout, but the main defence comes from the undulating green complexes and their surrounds

Sharon Heights G&CC is an unfamiliar course to many, even more so since its recent renovation, which brings a certain level of unpredictability to proceedings.

That said, with four gettable par 5s, the potentially drivable par-4 14^th – which will play as short as 244 yards – and a quirky collection of par 3s, this picturesque venue should provide a fun test for this week's field.

THE WEATHER

It will be a bright, hot start to the week in California, with clear sunshine and temperatures reaching up to 33°C over the opening two rounds. The heat will drop to a more comfortable 26°C over the weekend, and with a steady 8mph breeze unlikely to cause too many problems, the players should have no concerns with the forecast.

KEY STATS

SG: Approach / Greens-in-Regulation (GIR)

SG: Around-the-Greens (SG: ATG) / Scrambling

We're a little in the dark as to what it will take to win this week. As a relatively short course with wide fairways, it should give almost everyone a chance, instead placing the emphasis on approach play into these small, demanding greens.

In addition, the expected conditions will allow the event organisers to firm up the putting surfaces, which will make them tough to hold and bring those with a tidy short game to the fore.

CORRELATING EVENTS

2025 JM Eagle LA Championship (El Caballero Country Club)

Fellow Californian layout, El Caballero CC, is a hilly and loosely tree-lined parkland with frequent elevation changes. Possessing ample room off the tee and speedy bentgrass greens, it can provide clues as to the likely contenders.

2018-2022 LA Open / 2023-2024 JM Eagle LA Championship (Wilshire Country Club)

Former LA Championship host Wilshire CC is another course that should match up well to Sharon Heights G&CC. It's built on sloping terrain, with spacious fairways, heavy bunkering, and small, fast, elevated greens.

2022 Palos Verdes Championship / 2023 LA Open / 2024 Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship (Palos Verdes Golf Club)

Palos Verdes GC is a strikingly undulating layout with generous fairways, from which players are required to hit plenty of uphill approaches into tiny, elevated poa/bentgrass greens.

Meijer LPGA Classic (Blythefield Country Club)

Blythefield CC is a compact, gently-rolling, tree-lined course with moderate elevation changes. There's plenty of space in the fairways and the elevated poa/bentgrass greens are speedy.

Arkansas Championship (Pinnacle Country Club)

I'll finish with Pinnacle CC. This attractive, hilly, tree-lined course has wide fairways, whilst it can be tough to judge distance control into the bentgrass greens due to the frequent changes in elevation.

THE FIELD

The stars are out in force this week, with eight of the world's top 10 set to tee it up in California. No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul leads the way and No. 2 Nelly Korda makes her first appearance since winning the Tournament of Champions back in January.

Yealimi Noh is the reigning champion and is joined by a further six previous winners: Rose Zhang (2024), Minjee Lee (2022), Anna Nordqvist (2017), Sei Young Kim (2016), Hyo Joo Kim (2015), and Yani Tseng (2012).

Talented German Helen Briem makes the first start of her rookie season after topping the LPGA Q-Series in 2025. Meanwhile, the five leading players from the Epson Tour last year will also be in action, led by America's Melanie Green.

SELECTIONS 

Market leaders: Jeeno Thitikul 6/1, Nelly Korda 7/1, Miyu Yamashita 16/1, Hye Jin Choi 18/1, Nasa Hataoka 20/1

2 pts Hyo Joo Kim each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 22/1

On a layout set to reward precise iron play and a delicate touch around the greens, few are better suited than Hyo Joo Kim. She's made an encouraging start to the season, and possessing comp form that boosts her hopes, she has every chance of being among the main contenders this week.

Coming off a two-win season in 2025, Kim began the new year with a 3^rd-place finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand. She's played just one event since and again looked decent, finishing 21^st at the HSBC Women's World Championship.

Each part of her game has clicked over these opening events. Her elite short game is a particular plus here, ranking 1^st in scrambling and 2^nd in SG: ATG in 2025, and also ranking 31^st in SG: Approach, her profile matches up nicely.

Kim won this event in 2015 when it was held in Arizona, and with finishes of 2^nd in Arkansas, 3^rd at Palos Verdes, and 5^th in the Meijer LPGA Classic on her C.V, she can become a two-time champion in California.

1.75 pts Lydia Ko each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 25/1

With two top-five finishes across her last three appearances, Lydia Ko has looked dangerous at the beginning of 2026. She’s got form in all the right places, and currently much more controlled with the driver than she has been in recent years, I expect her to be in the mix at the top of the leaderboard.

Ko wasn’t at her best at the end of 2025, but with finishes of 4^th at the Tournament of Champions and 5^th at the Honda LPGA Thailand to begin this campaign, she looked to have found something in the off-season.

While a 27^th-place finish at the HSBC Women’s World Championship on her latest outing wasn’t quite as impressive, there were still positives in most areas, ultimately failing to contend due to an unusually off week with the irons.

I’m happy to forgive that for a player who has so often ranked among the strongest approach players on tour. She’s also improved from sitting outside the top 100 with the driver in the previous three seasons to 12^th this, and when combined with her elite short game – ranking 2^nd in both SG: ATG and scrambling in 2025 – she ticks every box statistically.

With a win in Arkansas, a 3^rd-place finish at Palos Verdes, and three top-five finishes at the Meijer LPGA Classic all strengthening her case, I’m confident Ko has the game to tame Sharon Heights G&CC.

0.75 pts Allisen Corpuz each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 80/1

Having attended college in California, it’s apt that Allisen Corpuz’s solo pro win came at Pebble Beach at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open. She hasn’t quite built on that since, but with her early-season form promising, this fine iron player with a tidy short game can end her three-year wait for a victory.

Corpuz kicked off 2026 by contending in the Honda LPGA Thailand, entering the final round in 3^rd position, three off the pace. She stood still with a level-par 72 in the final round there to finish 10^th, though, it was still a promising display, and she again showed positives at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, ending the week in 27^th place.

She’s looked back to her best with the irons, ranking 5^th in SG: Approach and 10^th in GIR across those two events. Meanwhile, rating as the 12^th-best scrambler on the LPGA in 2025, she has the proficiency to get out of trouble around these undulating putting surfaces.

A 5^th-place finish at the Meijer LPGA Classic is a valuable piece of form in relation to this test, and with her ability to handle a hilly course with frequent elevation changes evident from that U.S. Women’s Open win, Corpuz has much in her favour.

0.75 pts Celine Boutier each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 110/1

With form that reads MC-42-52, it’s been a slow start to 2026 for Celine Boutier. That said, she’s an ideal fit for this course at her best, and with her irons and short game looking solid, I’ve been tempted in by this classy major champion at a three-figure price.

Boutier missed the cut in Saudi Arabia on her first outing of the year and followed with a 42^nd-place finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand, where she putted well over the first two days before finding improvement in approach over the weekend. A 52^nd-place finish at the HSBC Women’s World Championship may look uninspiring, but she maintained form with her irons, ranking 16^th in SG: Approach.

This quality iron play isn’t surprising for a player who ranked 17^th in SG: Approach and 28^th in GIR in 2025. Furthermore, ending the season placed 8^th in scrambling, she rates high in both of the key statistical areas I’m looking at this week.

Finishes of 4^th at the Meijer LPGA Classic and 5^th in Arkansas highlight just how well Boutier’s game translates to this type of test, boding well for her chances of success at Sharon Heights G&CC.

0.75 pts Grace Kim each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 150/1

Beginning this year after a spectacular major breakthrough in 2025, Grace Kim has shown only glimpses of that quality in her first few events of the season. However, she improved steadily through last week’s Australian Women’s Open. As a player at her best with approach play and around the greens, the demands of this test could bring her game to life.

Kim’s memorable major victory came at the Evian Championship back in July, where she eagled the closing par 5 to force a playoff with Jeeno Thitikul, before making another incredible eagle on the second extra hole to claim the title. Her form remained positive following that, recording two further top-10s and just two missed cuts in her final 10 starts.

The Aussie looked sharp in the opening two rounds of the Honda LPGA Thailand on her reappearance, firing rounds of 67-68 before a disappointing weekend dropped her to 38^th place. She began slowly at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, though signed off with a four-under 68 to finish 41^st, and after succumbing to a 75 on the first day in Australia last week, she responded with rounds of 72-71-67 to finish 10^th.

As has been the case throughout Kim’s time on the LPGA, she excelled with her short game and irons in 2025, ranking 21^st in SG: ATG and 35^th in SG: Approach. When we take this into consideration alongside her runner-up finish at the 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic, she looks primed to challenge at a price far bigger than her talents warrant.

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