The LPGA Tour’s 2021 season wraps up this week with the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla.
Along with the crowning of the champion of the tournament finale, several season-ending awards are still up for grabs, including the Rolex Player of the Year, the LPGA Money Title, and the Vare Trophy (Low Score Average).
The Race to the CME Globe is a season-long points competition to gain entry into the championship where it’s winner take all. The player who wins the CME Group Tour Championship is named the “Race to the CME Globe Champion.”
The field will include the top 60 LPGA players in the points standings, headlined by world Nos. 1 and 2 in Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko, respectively.
The Skinny
Event: CME Group Tour Championship
Title Sponsor: CME Group
LPGA Tour Debut: 2014
Dates: Nov. 18-21, 2021
Where: Naples, Florida
Course: Tiburón Golf Club (Gold)
Distance: Par 72, 6556 yards
Purse: $5,000,000
Winning Share: $1,500,000
Watch: Golf Channel
Defending Champion: Jin Young Ko
How to Follow the CME Group Tour Championship
Television: Thu-Fri: 3-5 p.m. (GOLF, Live); Sat: 4-7 p.m. (GOLF, Tape Delay); Sun: 1-4 p.m. ET (NBC, Live)
Live Stream: Thu-Sat: 2-5 p.m. (NBC Sports App, GolfChannel.com); Sun: 1-4 p.m. (NBC Sports App, GolfChannel.com)
LINKS: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
CME Group Tour Championship History
The CME Group Tour Championship debuted in November 2011, following two seasons of a season-ender titled the LPGA Tour Championship (2009-2010). The first iteration was the CME Group Titleholders (2011-2013).
The first tournament was played in November 2011 at Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando (FL), which had hosted the 2010 LPGA Tour Championship. In 2012, the tournament moved to the Eagle Course of the TwinEagles Club, in Naples (FL). Since 2013, it has been contested in Naples at the Gold Course of the Tiburón Golf Club.
In 2014 the LPGA Tour introduced a season-long points race, the Race to the CME Globe, and a $1 million bonus.
The inaugural winner of the current format was New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who posted a 10-under par, then edging Carlota Ciganda and Julieta Granada in a playoff. Ko also won the season-long points title.
The next two contests (2015 and 2016) were won by Cristie Kerr (-17) and Charley Hull (-19), respectively.
The title sponsor is the CME Group, a financial securities corporation based in Chicago.
History: Recent Winners
2020: Jin Young Ko (-18)
2019: Sei Young Kim (-18)
2018: Lexi Thompson (-18)
2017: Ariya Jutanugarn (-15)
2016: Charley Hull (−19)
2015: Cristie Kerr (−17)
2014: Lydia Ko (−10)
History: Records
Low Round: 62 (-10) – Lydia Ko (Rd 2, 2016)
Low Score: 269 (-19) – Charley Hull (2016)
Win Margin: 5 – Jin Young Ko (2020)
CME Group Tour Championship Field
World No. 1 Nelly Korda headlines a field that will feature nine of the world’s top-10 ranked players, including No. 2, and the defending champion, Jin Young Ko.
In 2020, Ko earned her way into the season-ending event in three tournaments, making her season debut only at the Pelican Women’s Championship. Ko went on to best the field by five strokes after a Sunday 66 to cap off the year with a victory, the seventh of her career at the time.
Fast forward to this week, and Ko leads the Rolex Player of the Year award standings with 191 points, 10 ahead of Korda, which each player securing four wins so far in 2021.
Joining Korda and Ko are six past champions, including Lydia Ko (2014), Lexi Thompson (2018) and Sei Young Kim (2019), all coming off an appearance in the final playoff at the Pelican Women’s Championship.
Top-5 Betting Favorites
1. Jin Young Ko (4-1)
2. Nelly Korda (5-1)
3. Lydia Ko (7-1)
4. Brooke Henderson (14-1)
5. Sei Young Kim (14-1)
Full Field & Odds
CME Group Championship | Tiburón GC | Naples, FL | Nov. 18-21, 2021
Credits: LPGA Tour Communications, Getty Images
