Chun takes home prestigious award, the first rookie to win since Nancy Lopez in 1978
NAPLES, Fla. - The battle for the prestigious Vare Trophy came down to the final hole of the final round of the year at the CME Group Tour Championship. In Gee Chun clinched the scoring average title on Sunday after closing with a final-round, 2-under 70, and finished with a 69.583 scoring average for the year, edging out Lydia Ko by 0.013.
Lydia Ko led Chun by 0.006 entering Round 4, but finished two shots behind Chun for the week to end the year with a 69.596 final scoring average. Chun is only the second rookie to win the Vare Trophy. Nancy Lopez won the award in 1978, her first full season on the LPGA Tour.“It was big honor for me,” said Chun, “because to have my name next to legends, and then I play with Lydia [Ko] and Amy [Yang] today…and I always play with them. I know she’s great, but Lydia is a great player. I learned from her a lot.”
Chun finished her 2016 season as the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year. She captured her second major championship victory at the The Evian Championship, recorded 10 top-10 finishes and carded 34 rounds in the 60s. Her margin of victory in the Rookie of the Year Race was the third largest all-time. Chun has held the No. 3 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings for the past nine weeks.
This is the first time in LPGA history that five players have a scoring average below 70.
2016 Scoring Average
| Name | Scoring Average |
|---|---|
| In Gee Chun | 69.583 |
| Lydia Ko | 69.596 |
| Ariya Jutanugarn | 69.870 |
| Shanshan Feng | 69.877 |
| Ha Na Jang | 69.976 |
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