Shanshan Feng, the newly crowned world No. 1 who’s riding a hot streak after back-to-back wins in Asia, is the player to beat when she, Lexi Thompson, Anna Nordqvist, Cristie Kerr, and Rookie of the Year Sung Hyun Park, headline a talent-rich field at this week’s LPGA finale: the CME Group Tour Championship.
Lexi Thompson among superstars vying for Player of Year, $1 million bonus at LPGA’s Tour Championship
The LPGA season comes to an end this week at the CME Group Tour Championship, where deposed world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park could earn dual honors as Player and Rookie of the Year, and Shanshan Feng hopes to hold off challenges by Park, So Yeon Ryu, and Lexi Thompson for her newly secured top ranking.
Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
Much is on the line heading into the year-ending event, including Park’s quest to become just the second player in tour history to claim both Rookie and Player of the Year honors in the same season. Nancy Lopez accomplished the feat in 1978; Park must finish in the top six to match the Hall of Famer’s achievement.
In addition to Park duking it out with Feng, Thompson, and So Yeon Ryu for PoY, all four are competing for the money title, while Lexi has a slight edge over In Gee Chun for lowest average score, with Ryu and Stacy Lewis also in the running for the Vare Trophy.
There’s also a contest for who will end the year atop the Rolex Rankings, after Feng — the first Chinese player, male or female, to reach No. 1 — just surpassed Park for bragging rights after the latter held the spot for one week.
In golf’s version of musical chairs, Park overtook Ryu earlier this month after a 19-week reign, which followed Ariya Jutanugarn’s two weeks as the top-ranked tour player after she deposed Lydia Ko (85 weeks on top) in June.
And of course, there’s the small matter of the $1 million CME Globe bonus, which any one of several players, including the aforementioned competitors, Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn, and Ko, could procure.
Seeking her only victory in 2017, Ko was the first player to hit the $1 million jackpot, in 2014; she repeated the achievement in 2015.
Ariya Jutanugarn banked the huge paycheck last year at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla., while Charley Hull hopes to repeat as tournament champion.
Here’s how the various races shape up ahead of Thursday’s start:
Player of the Year points
- So Yeon Ryu (2-time winner in 2017, including ANA Inspiration) — 162
- Shanshan Feng (3 victories) — 159
- Sung Hyun Park (2 victories, including U.S. Women’s Open) — 157
- Lexi Thompson (2 victories; must win CME to claim PoY) — 147
Vare Trophy
- Lexi Thompson — 69.147
- Sung Hyun Park — 69.259
- In Gee Chun — 69.269
- Stacy Lewis — 69.614
- So Yeon Ryu — 69.630
CME Race to the Globe post-reset points (A win by any of the top five players, who control their own fates, earns the $1 million bonus.)
- Lexi Thompson — 5,000
- Sung Hyun Park — 4,750
- Shanshan Feng — 4,500
- So Yeon Ryu — 4,250
- Brooke M. Henderson — 4,000
- In Gee Chun — 3,600
- Cristie Kerr — 3,200
- Moriya Jutanugarn — 2,800
- Ariya Jutanugarn — 2,400
- Anna Nordqvist — 2,100
- Stacy Lewis — 1,800
- Lydia Ko — 1,600
