The LPGA Tour season reaches its penultimate tournament at Florida’s Pelican Golf Club as players look for strong performances heading into the CME Group Tour Championship.
Given the proximity to next week’s finale, it’s hardly surprising that one of the year’s most impressive fields will be in action as players jostle for position to qualify for next week’s tournament that features just the top 60 in the Race to CME Globe.
Seven of the world’s top 10 are in action this week, including defending champion, World No.4 Nelly Korda. The American won last year’s event in dramatic fashion after her triple bogey on the penultimate hole of the final round saw her lose the lead. However, she held her nerve to birdie the final hole and force a playoff, which she won after the first extra hole.
Korda is winless on the LPGA Tour this season. However, she did claim victory in the LET’s Aramco Team Series Sotogrande in August and followed that up with a tie for second in the LPGA Tour’s CP Women’s Open to suggest she is not far from her best form. However, she will be up against some extremely stiff competition, including World No.2 Jin Young Ko, World No.3 Lydia Ko, this year’s Evian Championship winner Brooke Henderson and 2014 Chevron Championship winner Lexi Thompson. South Koreans In Gee Chun and Hyo-Joo Kim complete the representation from the world’s top 10.
The quality runs far deeper than that, though, with 30 of the world’s top 50 participating, including Sei Young Kim, who lost to Korda in last year’s playoff. Jennifer Kupcho, who claimed her maiden Major title at this year’s Chevron Championship, also plays, as does 2018 Women’s British Open winner Georgia Hall.
Gemma Dryburgh won her first LPGA Tour title in last week’s Toto Japan Classic, and she is also in the field hoping to build on the momentum from that victory. Meanwhile, several high-profile players are still in precarious positions as they look to secure their qualification for next week’s tournament. They include US Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis and three-time…
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