LPGA Tour Final Event 'CME Group Tour Championship Viewing Points'

Taeguk Nangja's Challenge to End 15 Consecutive Tournaments Without a Title, Ko Jin-young Aims for 3rd Straight Win
Jeon In-ji Appears as 'Comeback Prize Queen', Lydia Ko and Lee Min-ji Clash for 'Player of the Year'

Ko Jin-young aims for a third consecutive victory at the final CME Group Tour Championship.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Breaking the winless streak’.

This is the challenge faced by the Taegeuk Ladies. The CME Group Tour Championship (total prize money $7 million), part of the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour, kicks off on the 17th (local time) at the Tiburon Golf Club Black Course (par 72, 6,556 yards) in Naples, Florida. It is the final event concluding the 2022 LPGA Tour season. Sixty players compete over four days in a 72-hole stroke play format with no cut-off to determine the winner.

Korean players have underperformed this year. Their total achievement is just four wins. Recently, they have been suffering from a severe drought in victories. Since Jeon In-ji (28) lifted the trophy at the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last June, it has been five months and 15 consecutive tournaments without a win. They are struggling to even break into the ‘top 10’. If they fail to win this tournament, they will not be able to secure a victory until the season opener in January next year.

Korea’s spearhead is Ko Jin-young (27). She is aiming for a three-peat victory in this tournament following her wins in 2020 and 2021. She recalls the thrilling memory of defending her title last year by shooting 9-under par on the final day. Thanks to this win, Ko Jin-young set a new milestone as the first Korean player to finish as the money leader for three consecutive years. Ko Jin-young secured her 13th career win at the HSBC Women’s World Championship last March. This year, she has one win and five top-10 finishes.

However, due to wrist injuries and other reasons, she has shown poor results since August, missing the cut three times and withdrawing once in four LPGA tournaments. Her world ranking has dropped to 4th. Korea’s lineup also includes ‘Major Queen’ Jeon In-ji, ‘Match Queen’ Ji Eun-hee (36), ‘Lotte Championship Champ’ Kim Hyo-joo (27), rookie runner-up Choi Hye-jin (23), and Kim Sei-young (29). Golf legend Park In-bi (34) has withdrawn from the tournament citing a hand injury.

Jeon In-ji challenges to become the comeback prize money king at the final CME Group Tour Championship.

The LPGA Tour will decide the winners of various titles through this tournament. The winner’s prize money is $2 million (approximately 2.65 billion KRW), the largest ever in women’s golf tournaments. Second in prize money, Jeon In-ji ($2,623,735), is aiming to become the money leader by overturning the standings. The current leader is Minjee Lee (Australia, $3,759,835). If Jeon In-ji wins, she can become the money leader regardless of Minjee Lee’s result. Jeon In-ji expressed her determination, saying, "I am currently in good form" and "I will play a game without regrets."

For Player of the Year, first place Lydia Ko (New Zealand, 150 points) and second place Minjee Lee (149 points) are in a fierce competition. The lowest average score award is likely to go to Lydia Ko (69.049 strokes). Second place Kim Hyo-joo (69.364 strokes) is excluded from the award because she did not meet the required number of tournaments. The Rookie of the Year title has already been secured by two-time winner Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.