Austin Ernst isn’t one of the nine players with a shot at the $1 million Race to the CME Globe prize, but she walked away with the first round lead Thursday at the CME Group Tour Championship after a sizzling 6-under-par 66 that included eight birdies. Ernst leads by one over Mi Hyang Lee with a pack of the world’s best – Gerina Piller, Cristie Kerr, Jaye Marie Green, Brittany Lincicome, Sei Young Kim, and Jennifer Song all tied for third at 4-under-par 68.
“Really, I’ve just been a little up and down with the putter. I hit the ball well today. Gave myself a lot of good looks and made a lot of them,” Ernst said. “I think I had eight birdies today. Obviously get a round like that, where I get confidence with my putter, that’s normally when I have my good weeks.”
With the Race to the CME Globe ending here in Naples, Sei Young Kim would win the $1 million prize if the tournament ended after today after a 4-under-par 68 in the first round.
“I try on the course not to think about it,” Kim said. “It’s just step by step. That’s very important to me to keep my mind in the game.”
But Kim’s edge is narrow and World No. 1 Lydia Ko, who controls her own destiny for the million with a win, is just one shot back of Kim after a 3-under-par 69 and is second in the Race to the CME Globe projections. Ko, who swept both the CME Group Tour Championship and Race to the CME Globe titles here a year ago, opened with a 2-under-par 70 in her win at this event last year.
“I think it’s better than last year,” Ko said with a laugh.
It’s a week with much more on the line for Ko than last year. The Rolex Player of the Year award, Vare Trophy, money list title and Race to the CME Globe are all up for grabs between her and Inbee Park this week. If the tournament ended today, Ko would sweep them all but the Race to the CME Globe. She needs to effectively beat Inbee Park by two shots for the week to win the Vare Trophy, which she did on Thursday with her 69 to Park’s 71, and she would need to keep Park from winning to hold on to the money list title. Ko leads by just three points in the Rolex Player of the Year standings but Park needs at least an eighth place finish to even have a mathematical shot at tying Ko, which she’s currently not at if the tournament ended today.
“If you think about it, it might be more on the line this week than at Evian,” Ko said. “I have got to think of it as another tournament. That’s what I said for all the majors. I’ve got to focus on one shot at a time and not think of it as it’s a major so it’s more special. Obviously it is at the end of the day, but it’s another tournament. We’ve got the world’s best golfer and the top players are here. I mean, it’s a great field, so in a way it does feel like a major. With everything that might come along on Sunday, might be even more than that. I just got to say, hey, hit good shots.”
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