5 Players to Watch at the LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship

The season finale has a $7 million purse and for several players marks an opportunity to put an exclamation point on already strong seasons.

Author:
Gabrielle Herzig
Publish date:
Nov 13, 2023

It’s the LPGA’s turn to crown a Tour champion. The final tournament of the season is here and the field is stacked with 60 world-class players contending for a massive $7 million purse—the largest on Tour outside the majors. The CME Group Tour Championship kicks off Thursday at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla.

The event may feature the tour’s top talent, but a few big names will be absent from the tee sheet as they failed to finish inside the top 60 in the LPGA’s season-long points race. Both Lexi Thompson (No. 79) and Lydia Ko (No. 100) will not be in the field this week despite being past champions.

With an unmatched strength of field, the $2 million winner’s check could be anyone’s. But five players in particular stand out as potential contenders with solid momentum heading into the season’s final event.

Lilia Vu

The world No. 1 is the obvious favorite headed into the week. The 26-year-old won for the fourth time Sunday at The Annika, where she came back from a three-shot deficit to defeat Emily Pedersen and take momentum into the CME. With two major championship victories on the season—the Chevron and the AIG Women’s British Open—Vu has proven she can perform on the game’s biggest stages. This week’s event will be no different.

Celine Boutier

Like Vu, Boutier also has four victories this season, including the Evian Championship in her nativeFrance. Currently ranked No. 1 in the Race to CME Globe standings, Boutier’s game has been sharp all year long. She missed the cut at The Annika—just her third missed cut of the season—but won in her previous start in Malaysia. The Frenchwoman will have the opportunity to pass Vu in the Rolex Player of the Year standings this week, which may provide her with a boost of motivation.

Jin Young Ko

It’s difficult to bet against the former world No. 1 at Tiburon Golf Club as Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship in back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021. The familiar venue could provide the perfect setting for Ko to capture her third victory of the LPGA season on top of the HSBC Women’s World Championship and the Cognizant Founders Cup.

Brooke Henderson

Henderson is another player with an impressive history at the Tour Championship. Since 2018, she has only one finish outside the top 10. She’s had a consistent season with eight top-20 finishes but her sole victory of the year came during the LPGA’s opening event, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January. A win at the CME would be the perfect cap to a season of steady play and the Canadian is known to perform well in Florida.

Allisen Corpuz

Watch out for the U.S. Women’s Open champion this week in Naples, as she has been trending in the right direction since her debut Solheim Cup appearance in which she won 2½ points for the Americans. With three top-5 finishes this season, Corpuz is in prime position for another victory. Like Vu, Corpuz thrives under the pressure and it won’t be surprising to see her name floating near the top of the leaderboard this week in Naples.