Chevron Championship is the first of five women's majors in a packed 2022 calendar; world No 1 Jin Young Ko headlines the event and Patty Tavatanakit returns as defending champion - watch live this week on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 31 March 2022 06:49, UK
Georgia Hall insists she's ready to take her career to another level as she aims for a climb up the world rankings and a second major title at the Chevron Championship.
Hall posted top-30 finishes in her first three events of the LPGA Tour season and then returned from a five-week break by cruising to a five-stroke victory on the Ladies European Tour at the Saudi Ladies International.
The 25-year-old made her major breakthrough at the 2018 AIG Women's Open and more recently contended in two of the five majors last season, and she arrives in California in confident mood ahead of this season's opening major.
"I feel I've done a lot in golf already but this year I just want to take it to another level," Hall said in her pre-tournament press conference. "I'm really ready to do that and I feel eager to win a lot more events [and] get as good a world ranking as I can do - world No 1, I would hope.
"I just want to take it to another level and I really want to succeed even more in my career, so hopefully I can do that. I was obviously very happy with the win [in Saudi Arabia] and the way I performed. Winning by five shots, leading start to finish was something I was very proud of.
"Both my previous big wins have come late, in the second half of the year, so that's why I was really glad to start off really well this year. Normally I have a fairly slow start to the year so I was very happy to get the win.
"I played well in Florida in February and confidence is growing from my win. I put a lot of work in at the start of the season, so I'm in a very steady place at the moment, very happy with my golf."
Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit returns as defending champion for the final edition held at Mission Hills Country Club, with the tournament moving from the Houston area as part of the sponsorship deal with Chevron from 2013.
World No 1 Jin Young Ko chases a sixth victory in 11 starts, at the venue where she won the first of two major titles in 2019, while 19 of the world's top 20 are scheduled to compete for a $5million (£3.6million) prize purse.
Inbee Park and Lydia Ko are among the former winners scheduled to tee it up, while all six of this season's winners on the LPGA Tour - including Danielle Kang and Atthaya Thitikul - are in action at Rancho Mirage.
Watch the Chevron Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 5pm on Sky Sports Golf and on the Sky Sports Golf YouTube channel, with a second session then available from midnight.
