Tour Returns To Naples For Season Finale
The 2016 LPGA season draws to a close as the Tour is back in Naples, Florida for the third playing of the CME Group Tour Championship at the Tiburón Golf Club.
The field this week was determined by the top 72 LPGA Members and those tied for 72nd on the Race to the CME Globe Points Standings, ranked in the order of their position on the standings at the conclusion of last week's CitiBanamex Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Aeromexico and Delta. There will be 68 players teeing it up this week attempting to take home the $500,000 first place prize. Three players were eligible but did not commit to play (Lee-Anne Pace, Na Yeon Choi, Inbee Park), and In-Kyung Kim withdrew.
Also up for grabs are a slew of season-long rewards, including the coveted $1 million bonus awarded to the winner of the Race to the CME Globe. The players in the top-9 positions have a mathematical chance to win the race based on various scenarios. The top-3 players (Ariya Jutanugarn, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson) will automatically win the Race with a win at the Tour Championship.
Cristie Kerr will defend her title this week at the site of her 18th career LPGA victory. Kerr (-17) outlasted Ha Na Jang (-16) and fellow American Gerina Piller (-16) to earn second win of the 2015 season.
Lydia Ko has her sights set on a third consecutive Race to the CME Globe title, but will have to catch current points leader Ariya Jutanugarn. Jutanugarn will have a 500-point lead on Ko after the points reset in advance of the Tour Championship.
The four-day tournament has no cut and only the top-40 finishers will earn points towards the final Race to the CME Globe standings.
Ko, Jutanugarn, Battle For Season-Long Awards
The CME Group Tour Championship will be the deciding factor in the showdown between World No. 1 Lydia Ko and World No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn for multiple season-long award races.
2016 Awards Races - Lydia Ko vs. Ariya Jutanugarn
| Award | Ko | Jutanugarn |
|---|---|---|
| Race to the CME Globe | 4,365 pts. (2nd) | 4,491 pts. (1st) |
| Rolex Player of the Year | 247 pts. (2nd) | 261 pts. (1st) |
| Vare Trophy (Scoring Avg.) | 69.611 (1st) | 69.923 (5th) |
| Official Money List | $2,457,913 (2nd) | $2,475,218 (1st) |
Race to CME Globe On The Line
Nine players will have a mathematical chance to win the Race to the CME Globe title and the $1 million prize that comes with it this week in Naples.
Now that the field has been determined for the event the points will reset. At the conclusion of the CME Group Tour Championship, the points each player earns at the Tour Championship will be added to her reset points. The player with the highest point total will be named the winner of the Race to the CME Globe.
In the event of a tie in the Race to the CME Globe, the winner will be decided by a sudden-death playoff immediately following the completion of the competition.
The winner of the Tour Championship will receive 3,500 points, meaning the players in the top-3 positions on the Race to the CME Globe Points Standings will be able to win the Race to the CME Globe with a win at the Tour Championship. Additionally, the players in the top-9 positions will have a mathematical chance to win the race based on various scenarios.
The standings for the top-9 in the Race to the CME Globe following the points reset are outlined below.
Top-9 Race To CME Globe Standings After Reset
- Ariya Jutanugarn - 5,000 (2016 season: 27 starts, 26 cuts made, 5 wins, 10 additional top-10s, $2,475,218)
- Lydia Ko - 4,500 (2016 season: 23 starts, 23 cuts made, 4 wins, 9 additional top-10s, $2,457,913)
- Brooke Henderson - 4,000 (2016 season: 30 starts, 29 cuts made, 2 wins, 13 additional top-10s, $1,708,173)
- Ha Na Jang - 3,600 (2016 season: 20 starts, 20 cuts made, 3 wins, 5 additional top-10s, $1,378,269)
- Sei Young Kim - 3,200 (2016 season: 24 starts, 20 cuts made, 2 wins, 7 additional top-10s, $1,429,701)
- Shanshan Feng - 2,800 (2016 season: 20 starts, 19 cuts made, 2 wins, 8 additional top-10s, $1,416,301)
- Minjee Lee - 2,400 (2016 season: 26 starts, 25 cuts made, 2 wins, 6 additional top-10s, $1,191,834)
- In Gee Chun - 2,000 (2016 season: 18 starts, 17 cuts made, 1 win, 9 additional top-10s, $1,450,279)
- Haru Nomura - 1,600 (2016 season: 26 starts, 26 cuts made, 2 wins, 4 additional top-10s, $1,200,531)
CME Group Cares Weekend
CME Group and the LPGA expanded the Race to the CME Globe weekend charitable program in 2016 to include Bright Pink®, a national non-profit organization focused on the prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer in young women. Bright Pink® joins Wounded Warrior Project® in the expanded partnership, CME Group Cares Weekend.
CME Group Cares Weekend is a season-long charitable giving program that turns eagles into donations. For each eagle recorded during weekend play (Saturday and Sunday) throughout the 2016 LPGA Tour season, CME Group donates $1,000 to the program’s total donation count. During the CME Group Tour Championship the amount contributed per eagle increases to $5,000 throughout the weekend. The money raised will go towards a charitable pool and be split evenly between Wounded Warrior Project® and Bright Pink®.
Following the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Aeromexico and Delta, LPGA Tour professionals have recorded a total of 283 eagles throughout weekend play bringing the CME Group Cares Weekend donation pot to $283,000 leading into the CME Group Tour Championship.
LPGA Numbers To Know
22.38 - Average age of winners in 2016
23 - Thru 32 events, 23 were won by players 23 years old or younger
7 - In the current Rolex Rankings, seven of the top-10 players in the world are 24 years old or younger
3 - Number of teenagers who have won on the LPGA Tour in 2016 (Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson, Minjee Lee)
3 - Number of players with consecutive wins on the LPGA Tour in 2016 (Lydia Ko, Ariya Jutanugarn, Shanshan Feng)
9 - Number of players with multiple wins on the LPGA Tour in 2016
17 & 11 - Seventeen players have LPGA wins in 2016, with eleven different countries represented amongst winners
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