For nearly 11 months, the top players in women’s golf have traveled the world, competing in 32 events, the Solheim Cup, and the Paris Olympics. Now, the LPGA Tour season culminates at the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida. The stakes are higher than ever at this season finale, where players not only chase the largest payday in women’s golf history, worth $11m but also contend for some of the most prestigious awards of the year. With each swing of the club over the course of 72 holes, the battle for the 2024 season championship will unfold. Here’s a closer look at what to expect from the LPGA Tour’s final event of the year.

Throughout the season, LPGA players have earned points in the Race to the CME Globe, with the top 60 in the standings qualifying for this week’s tournament. After the conclusion of last week’s event, The Annika driven by Gainbridge, the points reset, giving every player in the field a fresh shot at the season-long title. Here are the top five picks for the final championship of the LPGA Tour.

Nelly Korda

Nelly Korda has been having the season of her life. She appeared in fifteen events and made the cut in twelve of them, having earned a whopping $4.2 million throughout! She has also won seven titles this year, which is among the highest number of times a player has clinched the trophy in one season. Well, she was backlogged for quite some time and even had to take a break after injuring her neck during the Solheim Cup practice round. This kept her away from the field for two months. But as it turns out, she is back better than ever and even grabbed her last win at the Annika.

Nelly Korda has landed herself in the top 10 in her last three appearances at the Tour Championship and is currently aiming to grab her eighth win of the season, being already on No. 1 of the CME Globe standings.

Haeran Ryu

Haeran Ryu is currently ranked No. 2 in the Race to CME Globe standings, with a total earning of $2.8 million. However, she is a whopping 1365.427 points behind Nelly Korda. The 23-year-old appeared in twenty-five events so far and has missed the cut in only three of them. While her number of top-10 finishes is as high as thirteen, Ryu has only won one event this year – the FM Championship in August. At the Annika driven by Gainbridge, she finished with a disappointing T20. Nonetheless, she is all set to grab her second victory of the season.

Lydia Ko

If someone has had a great year as close to Nelly Korda, it will surely be Lydia Ko. To begin with, she won the 2024 Paris Olympics in August and was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. This was one of the greatest milestones in her professional journey. Apart from that, Ko also appeared in nineteen events this season and bagged the victory in three of them. She also has a total of seven top-10 finishes which has earned her a whopping $2.7 million. Lydia Ko is currently ranked third on the Race to CME Globe list.

Ayaka Furue

Ayaka Furue joined the LPGA Tour in 2022 and has ever since bagged only two victories on the LPGA Tour. Her second one came this year at the Amundi Evian Championship in July. However, her consistency has helped her have a great season this year. She appeared in twenty-three events and missed the cut in only one of them – the Dow Championship. Apart from that, she also finished in the top 10 eleven times, which bagged her $2.7 million, and a fourth position ranking at the CME Points standings, keeping up with her same momentum.

Ruoning Yin

Ruoning Yin has already started making it to the headlines. The 22-year-old joined the Tour only two seasons ago and has already managed to claim five victories so far. Her 2024 season has been beyond exceptional. She appeared in nineteen events and made the cut in seventeen of them. Additionally, she also clinched the trophy in three of the events, earning a whopping $2.4 million. She is currently ranked fifth on the CME points rank and will be entering the Tour Championship in the hope of being able to grab her fourth victory of the season.
Who do you think will be clinching the trophy this year after Amy Yang at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida? Let us know in the comments section below!