Interesting CME points storylines with $4 million check at stake

Marina Alex added this week’s Lotte Championship to her schedule to bolster her chances of getting into the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. After a runner-up finish in Japan, however, the 34-year-old won’t need to worry about that. Alex moved far enough up the Race to CME Globe points list to secure her spot in the 60-player field.

This year’s CME purse is $11 million, up from $7 million last year, with a record $4 million going to the winner. The runner-up of this year’s event will receive $1 million. Every competitor in the 60-player field will be awarded at least $55,000 at the 72-hole, no-cut event.

Only two tournaments remain before the cutoff point at the conclusion of The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. The top 60 players on the CME Globe list will qualify for the Nov. 21-24 event, held at Tiburon Golf Club.

Here’s a list of players making moves – and some who need to – down the stretch:

UP

Marina Alex of the United States hits her tee shot on the 7th hole during the final round of the TOTO Japan Classic 2024 at Seta Golf Course on November 3, 2024, in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. (Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images)

Alex lost in a six-hole playoff at the Toto Japan Classic but earned enough points to move up 29 spots to No. 32. She was 61st on the points list heading into Japan.

Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea hits her tee shot on the 3rd hole during the final round of the TOTO Japan Classic 2024 at Seta Golf Course on November 3, 2024, in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. (Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images)

Kim, 29, tied for 17th in Japan and moved up five places to No. 61. She’s one spot outside the cut line to qualify.

Alexa Pano of the United States hits her tee shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the TOTO Japan Classic 2024 at Seta Golf Course on October 31, 2024, in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. (Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images)

Pano moved up one spot after a T-34 in Japan, inching her way to 60th. The 20-year-old American is not in the field this week in Hawaii.

Yuna Nishimura of Japan is seen before her tee shot on the 13th hole during the final round of the TOTO Japan Classic 2024 at Seta Golf Course on November 3, 2024, in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. (Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images)

Nishimura bumped up two spots to No. 67 after a T-12 on home soil. She’s playing the Lotte this week looking to make…