BELLEAIR, Fla. — The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican is the penultimate event of the 2025 LPGA Tour season and is often a week that can be pretty stressful for athletes who are working to either earn a spot in the field at the CME Group Tour Championship, a tournament that will award a $4 million first-place check to the winner, or solidify full LPGA Tour status for the next season.

Meet four athletes on the bubble in both scenarios and learn more about how they have taken their fates into their own hands through three rounds at Pelican Golf Club.

Nataliya Guseva

Nataliya Guseva

The Epson Tour alum entered the week at 64th in the Race to the CME Globe, four spots outside the top 60 cutoff to qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

Guseva began The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican with a 1-under 69 on Thursday and has steadily improved since, carding a 3-under 67 on Friday and then blitzing Pelican Golf Club with a flawless 7-under 63 on Moving Day in Belleair, Fla. She kicked off her third round by making eight straight pars and then rattled off seven birdies in her final 10 holes, two sets of which came back-to-back on the par-5 14th, par-3 15th, par-4 17th and par-4 18th holes.

The 22-year-old is tied for third through 54 holes in the penultimate event of the season alongside 2025 major champion Grace Kim at 11-under overall, three shots behind third-round leader Linn Grant. She is currently projected to move to 52nd in the Race to the CME Globe if she holds this position, but Guseva could climb further up or drop down in the point standings depending upon her Sunday finish at Pelican Golf Club.

And while some athletes might be feeling nervous at this juncture, with not only a berth in the season finale on the line but also a shot at their first career victory, Guseva, who is a second-year LPGA Tour member, is looking at this opportunity a bit differently.

“For tomorrow, to be honest, it's just trying to enjoy myself and talk as much to Jeff (Brighton, her caddie) as I could, to be honest,” Guseva said. “We'll see what's going to happen.”

Lucy Li

Lucy Li

The Epson Tour winner had a substantial amount of ground to make up in order to have a shot at qualifying for the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburón Golf Club.

Li was 71st in the Race for the CME Globe, 11 positions away from the top 60 in the point standings, and needed to make a rather large move at The ANNIKA to have a sniff at a berth in Naples, Fla.

The Californian opened with an even-par 70 on Thursday at Pelican Golf Club, but Li then really caught fire over the next 36 holes, posting a pair of 65s on Friday and Saturday, the latter of which saw the Epson Tour graduate go bogey-free and card four birdies in a six-hole stretch from Nos. 5 through 10.

With just 18 holes to play at The ANNIKA, Li is in a three-way tie for fifth at 10-under for the tournament and is currently projected to climb to 60th in the Race to the CME Globe if she maintains or betters her current position, a 54-hole performance that has bolstered her self-belief ahead of one of the most important final rounds of the year.

“Definitely gives me a little bit of confidence. I've been honestly playing well for the past couple of months,” Li said on Saturday. “I had some great starts in Hawaii and China and Korea, and then I got really sick during Malaysia. Almost finished (last) there. And Japan, I was still getting over it. I am honestly still getting over it a little bit right now.

“So lost a little bit of confidence there. I think it was really just being sick and tired. It's nice to see the game come back a little bit.”

Brooke Matthews

Brooke Matthews

Matthews was two spots outside of the top 60 coming into The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican and knew she needed to make something happen quickly to qualify for her first CME Group Tour Championship.

After a slow start, one that saw her shoot 70 and 69 in the first and second rounds, respectively, at Pelican Golf Club, the Epson Tour graduate turned on the gas on Saturday. The 27-year-old threw everything she had at this week’s venue, making 11 birdies in her first 15 holes of the round, three of which came consecutively on five, six and seven and four of which she rattled off on the par-3 12th, par-4 13th, par-5 14th and par-3 15th holes.

But Matthews also put three bogeys and one double bogey on 16 on her scorecard, finishing round three with a 6-under 64. The Moving Day performance vaulted Matthews from T32 to T10 with 18 holes remaining, giving the Arkansas native a good opportunity to finish inside the top 60, as she is now projected at 58th in the Race ahead of the final round in Belleair, Fla.

Alexa Pano

Alexa Pano

Pano wasn’t playing for a spot in the field at Tiburón Golf Club this week at The ANNIKA but was rather trying to maintain full status for the 2026 season at Pelican Golf Club and avoid traveling to Lower Alabama for the Final Qualifying portion of 2025 LPGA Q-Series.

Athletes who finish inside the top 100 in the season-long Race to the CME Globe are considered to have full status for the next year, and after a 2025 that has seen her make 13 cuts in 23 starts, the 21-year-old entered this week in Florida right at 100 in the point standings.

Currently sitting in a tie for 10th on the leaderboard thanks in large part to a Moving Day 65, the Epson Tour alum is now projected to climb to 93rd in the Race, a position she will need to maintain or better in the final round at The ANNIKA if she wants to skip a trip to the last stage of Q-School in early December.

Bubble Athletes Taking Fate Into Their Own Hands Through Three Rounds at The ANNIKA

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