With one last competitive opportunity on the line at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, Lucy Li delivered when it mattered most.

A strong finish would see her punch her ticket to the CME Group Tour Championship and have one more chance in 2025 to chase her first LPGA Tour title. But a missed cut meant an early start to the offseason for Li.

Not only did the Epson Tour graduate find herself teeing it up on Saturday in Belleair, Fla. – she made the most of the weekend berth, climbing up the leaderboard and tallying a T4 finish. The California native’s 65-65-66 from Friday to Sunday was exactly what she needed to clinch her second career appearance at the CME Group Tour Championship, where she recorded a T16 finish in her debut in 2024.

But it was a nail-biter for Li. With four holes to play on Sunday, it looked like she was safely inside the top 60 of the Race to the CME Globe and that she had solidified her spot in the field in Naples, Fla. A bogey on the par-4 17th hole quickly changed that, however, as she then projected to be just outside the cutoff in the point standings. Li then delivered in the most crucial moment, making a birdie on the par-4 18th hole at Pelican Golf Club to finish at 58th in the Race and secure her spot at Tiburón Golf Club.

“I am really excited,” Li said about qualifying for the CME Group Tour Championship. “That was the goal coming into this week, was to try to make it to next week, and so I'm really proud of myself if I'm able to be there.

“After the second round, I definitely knew that I had a chance if I continued to play well. But my goal this week was to stay present on every shot and to have fun. I think I did a really good job of that this week, and so hopefully keep that going forward.”

Prior to The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, Li was ranked 71st in the Race to CME Globe, 11 spots away from qualifying for the limited-field season finale.

And in addition to finishing 58th in the Race to the CME Globe, her stellar performance at the penultimate event on the 2025 schedule also saw Li earn her career-best result at Pelican Golf Club after recording a missed cut and a T69 result in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

The performance was additionally Li’s strongest of the 2025 season and was a sigh of relief for the Epson Tour winner, who wasn’t entirely thrilled with her results thus far this year, despite making 18 cuts in 24 starts before teeing it up in Belleair, Fla.

And on top of all of that, Li has recently struggled, both physically and mentally, following an illness in Malaysia a few weeks ago. With her confidence plummeting, the 23-year-old got real with her expectations, forcing her to find a new perspective in the first of now two consecutive weeks of Florida events.

“It was really nice to play some good golf and be in contention,” said Li. “I had some struggles this year, so it was really nice to come in and play some good golf. I honestly came into this week with almost no confidence, and I was really tired from being sick the last two weeks, so I just tried to make my goal being to have fun this week, and so it was nice to come through with three good rounds at the end.”

If she can keep her focus on the shot in front of her and continue to enjoy good golf in the Sunshine State, another top finish at the CME Group Tour Championship could be on the horizon for the Epson Tour graduate, a strong conclusion for Lucy Li to her third season as an LPGA Tour member.

Lucy Li’s Weekend Climb Clinches Her a Spot in the CME Group Tour Championship

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