Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow moved up the leaderboard with third round 69s in the CME Group Tour Championship in Florida and boosted their hopes of a big cheque in the last event of the year.

Maguire made six birdies in an excellent third round, closing with back to back birdies to move up to tied 34th in the 72-strong field on two-under with Meadow a shot further back in joint 37th after making five birdies and two bogeys.

The Irish pair are a long way outside the battle for the title where defending champion Sei Young Kim leads by one stroke at -13 after a third-round 67.

Scores

In 2019, she led the CME Group Tour Championship after 54 holes and went on to win her ninth career victory and the largest winner’s prize in women’s golf history.

“I think I feel I got good feeling, because I wasn't good shot striking ball the last week, but I try to figure out,” said Kim. “I got something in there, yeah, I was able to play, yeah, very solid this week.”

Kim carded six birdies through her first 13 holes and was blemish-free on the scorecard until No. 18. After a tricky putt off the green went whirling past the hole, Kim missed on a makeable par putt from 5 feet that grazed the left side of the hole, leading to her first bogey since No. 9 on Friday. 

A win on Sunday would be the first time Kim has successfully defended a title in her career, as she looks to become the only three-time winner of the 2020 season. 

“Well, my position is really good chance to the chase the everything. So, yeah, I don't have any the defend champion, so it's really -- if I play well tomorrow, yeah, good chance to everything. So yeah, I just keep doing,” said Kim. 

World No. 1 Jin Young Ko’s 3-under 69, her second consecutive bogey-free round, kept her firmly in title contention. Ko birdied holes 3 and 7 and then produced nine straight pars until No. 17. With a birdie on the second-to-last hole and the bogey finish by Kim, Ko sits at -12 with her first win of the 2020 season in sight.

“I just try to make birdies, and then I said yesterday my goal is like just bogey-free round on the weekend, so I made it today,” said Ko, whose best finish in Naples is T11. “I'm looking forward to tomorrow.”

Ko will join Kim in Sunday’s final grouping along with fellow major champion Georgia Hall after Hall’s 4-under 68 landed her in solo third at -10. Hall had a relatively quiet start with eight pars and a lone bogey on No. 5 but rebounded on her back nine with five birdies in her last eight holes to keep herself in the mix at the Tour’s season finale.

“I hit it pretty good today as well. I just didn't hole many on the front nine, so I had to stay patient. 

Yeah, managed to get a couple early in the back nine and then just followed in from there really,” said Hall, who earned her second career victory earlier this season at the Cambia Portland Classic. “Very happy with my back nine to get me especially into contention for tomorrow.”

Five players are tied for fourth at -9, four shots back from Kim, including past CME champions Charley Hull (2016) and Lexi Thompson (2018), and Brooke Henderson, one of six players to card the day’s low round of 6-under-66. Mina Harigae, playing in her first CME Group Tour Championship since she tied for 26th in 2012, is tied for ninth with major champions Cristie Kerr, Lydia Ko and Hannah Green. Green was near the top of the leaderboard at -10 after three birdies in her first 17 holes, but a double bogey on No. 18 curbed any chances of a spot in Sunday’s final grouping.

“I made a great par save on 9; holed nearly a 10-foot putt for par and gave myself a good opportunity on 10. Missed it. Then gave myself another good opportunity on 12 and 13 and missed it again. Just couldn't get the pace of the greens today. Then on the last kind of just hit my second putt, third putt a bit too quickly and tugged it left,” said Green. “I'm going to do some putting, try and make sure I'm not getting too quick on my stroke and wanting to get the ball in the hole too quickly. Hopefully I can get good numbers into greens like I did today and capitalize on that.”

WITH A WIN

• Sei Young Kim would earn her second consecutive CME Group Tour Championship title and become the first multiple winner in championship history

• With the $1.1 million winner’s check, Sei Young Kim would move to $2,307,438 in 2020 earnings and win the Official Money Title; she would also move to $10,974,114 in career earnings and become the 18th player in LPGA Tour history to cross the $10 million threshold

• Projections show that Sei Young Kim could move to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings with a win and a Jin Young Ko finish of solo 10th or worse

• With the $1.1 million winner’s check, Jin Young Ko would move to $5,600,824 in career earnings and become the 71st player in LPGA Tour history to cross the $5 million threshold

• Georgia Hall would earn her second victory of 2020, joining the Cambia Portland Classic

• With her third career victory, Georgia Hall would tie Trish Johnson for the third-winningest LPGA Tour player from England, following Laura Davies (20 victories) and Alison Nicholas (four victories)

JIN YOUNG KO SEES A PUTTING LESSON WITH STEVE STRICKER IN THE NEAR FUTURE

Saturday at the CME Group Tour Championship was a doubly successful day for Rolex Ranking No. 1 Jin Young Ko. Not only did she keep a spot near the top of the leaderboard at -12, one stroke off the lead held by Sei Young Kim, but she also met one of her icons, 12-time PGA Tour winner Steve Stricker, and even got him to promise a date on the putting green. 

“I met him before the tee off today and then I said, ‘Hi. I'm your fan.’ He said, ‘Okay, good luck. And thank you,’” said Ko of her interaction with Stricker, who is moonlighting as a on-course commentator for Golf Channel during the weekend broadcast coverage. “I asked him on the course, maybe hole number 12, I asked to him, ‘How long of a time do you practice putting?’ He said, ‘A lot.’ I said, ‘So how many times?’ ‘A lot,’ [he said.] And then I said, ‘I want to ask you about putting. Teach me.’ And then he said, ‘Any time.’ He was really good. He was nice.”

Only one round left before the 2020 LPGA Tour season wraps up, Ko knows that Sunday is her final opportunity to win her first tournament of the pandemic-stained season. And, of course, capture her first Race to the CME Globe title.

“Win? Well, I never finished top 10 for this course, Tiburon, so if I win it's going to be a big one to me. So I will try for the win, but I don't want to get too greedy,” said Ko.

 

BROOKE HENDERSON TAKES FULL ADVANTAGE OF CME MOVING DAY

Brooke Henderson said she feels she’s improving each year at Tiburon Golf Club, and it showed with an impressive moving day at the CME Group Tour Championship. After starting the first round with a 1-over 73, Henderson quickly gained ground this Saturday after carding seven birdies and a long bogey on No. 9 to record a 6-under 66 and sit in a tie for fourth at -10.

“I feel like every year I get a little bit more comfortable out here, learn the course a little bit more, which is good. And working hard with Brit, my caddie, and also my dad, my coach, is usually out here, too,” said Henderson. “Just trying to get a better plan and strategize our way around here. I just -- every hole I feel like there is opportunity for birdie, so that makes it really exciting when you step up to every tee.”

It is the Canadian’s sixth appearance in the Tour’s season finale, where she has never finished worse than T25. Last year, Henderson finished in solo fifth, her career-best result in the event. Today’s round ties her lowest 18-hole score at Tiburon, last recorded in 2015 when she finished 13th. The 23-year-old said she misses the “Brooke Brigade,” and the heavy contingent of fans that follow the Hendersons at the Tour Championship. 

“It's very strange not to see the big stands. Normally there is a lot the snowbirds, Canadians following me around all four days, so it's definitely been strange,” said Henderson, who also takes residence in Naples when not in Canada. “I really miss the energy and the little bit of adrenaline that the fans bring, but at the end of the day it's just a competitive round and you're just trying to do the best you can.”

 

MINJEE LEE RIDES HOT BACK NINE INTO SUNDAY IN NAPLES

She found an early bogey in the third round of the CME Group Tour Championship on No. 3, but Minjee Lee bounced back with a vengeance. The five-time LPGA Tour champion eventually made the turn in red numbers before making a run on the back nine that included five straight birdies from Nos. 13-17 to cap a 6-under par 66 performance.

“It was a nice stretch,” said Lee, who hit all 14 fairways and 13 greens today. “I hit really good iron shots into a lot of those holes, so it was nice to have little putts for birdie. A good momentum swing and after the first two days, you work hard those two days, really want to climb that leaderboard.”

Lee will be joined in the penultimate grouping tomorrow by Charley Hull and Brooke Henderson, both also firing rounds of 66 this afternoon. The Australian heads into the final 18 holes four shots back of the lead and in a tie for fourth at -9 overall.

“Looking at the leaderboard, I think Sei Young is kind of running away with it. I'm probably going to have to start really fast and make a lot of birdies tomorrow,” Lee said. “Just play my game, be aggressive and try to hole a lot of putts.

“I think she [Kim] starts off well and she ends well. If she's on, she's on. It's kind of really hard to keep up if she's really on her game. Just means we have to step it up a little bit.”

 

CME GROUP SCORES 1 FOR ST. JUDE THIS SEASON

When players showed up at the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort in Naples for obligatory COVID testing before the CME Group Tour Championship, they looked like road-weary travelers in the TSA line. While everyone is grateful for the sponsors, staff, volunteers and venues providing opportunities to play, a summer and fall filled with nasal swabs and temperature checks has deadened the eyes of those who traversed that gauntlet.

But the ballroom at the Ritz was different. After their tests, players were treated to unexpected gifts – headcovers from CME Group adorned with art by patients from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

More than one player teared up at the gift. Others couldn’t wait to put the headcovers in play. All agreed to sign an additional cover to be auctioned off to benefit St. Jude. 

Throughout the 2020 LPGA Tour season, CME Group supported St. Jude by donating $20,000 for every hole-in-one made in competition. The program is called “Score 1 For St. Jude,” and has seen 14 aces coming into the week. 

Danielle Kang was so moved by the success of the program, and some of the comments that came from a St. Jude patient who attended her pre-tournament virtual press conference, that she agreed to donate $1,000 for every birdie she made this week. “I might not make a hole-in-one, but I know I’m going to make some birdies,” Kang said. “Hopefully I can make 20 birdies this week and donate $20,000.” 

To read more of Steve Eubanks’ column on LPGA.com, click here: https://www.lpga.com/news/2020/cme-group-scores-1-for-st-jude-this-season

To donate and bid on the silent auction to support St. Jude, click here: www.stjude.org/scoreoneforstjude

 

PLAYER NOTES 

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Sei Young Kim (67-69-67) 

• She hit 13 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 28 putts

• This is Kim’s sixth season on the LPGA Tour; she has 12 victories, including the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the 2020 Pelican Women’s Championship

• This is Kim’s ninth event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; she won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the Pelican Women’s Championship, and has three other top-10 finishes

• This is Kim’s sixth appearance at the CME Group Tour Championship; she won the 2019 competition and tied for 10th in 2018, with no finish worse than 24th

• Her win at the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic set the LPGA Tour 72-hole scoring record of 31-under par 257, breaking the mark of 27-under 261 held by Annika Sorenstam and Kim herself

• Earned the largest winner’s check in the history of women’s golf, $1.5 million, with a win at the 2019 CME Group Tour Championship, surpassing $8 million in career earnings

• Kim has recorded at least one win in every LPGA Tour season since 2015 (12 career wins)

• She has two wins in 2020, her fourth multi-win season since her rookie year of 2015

• Represented the Republic of Korea in the 2019 Rio Olympics, finishing T25

• Member of Team Korea at the 2016 UL International Crown, posting a 3-1-0 record

• 2015 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year

• A third-degree black belt in taekwondo, her father owned a taekwondo academy in their native Republic of Korea

Rolex Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko (68-67-69) 

• She hit 13 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 29 putts

• This is Ko’s third season on the LPGA Tour; she has six victories, including major titles at the 2019 ANA Inspiration and the 2019 Evian Championship

• This is Ko’s fourth event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; she was co-runner-up at last week’s U.S. Women’s Open and finished fifth at the Volunteers of America Classic

• This is Ko’s fourth appearance in the CME Group Tour Championship; her best finish is a tie for 11th in 2019

• Ko has been No. 1 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings since July 20, 2019, which is a streak of 73 consecutive weeks; she was also No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings for 12 weeks in early 2019

• Swept the LPGA Tour’s major 2019 awards, winning Rolex Player of the Year, Rolex Annika Major Award, Vare Trophy and Official Money Title honors

• Earned four victories along with two of five major championships in 2019, with eight additional top-10 finishes including three runner-up performances

• Her 114 consecutive bogey-free holes in 2019 bested Tiger Woods’ record of 110 and is the longest known streak in LPGA and PGA Tour history

• Became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2018 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, and joined Beverly Hanson (1951 Eastern Open) as the only players in LPGA history to win in their debut as Tour Members

• In 2018, clinched Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors with four events remaining in the season

• As a non-member, won the 2017 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship and was runner-up at the 2015 AIG Women’s British Open

 Rolex Rankings No. 42 Georgia Hall (69-69-68) 

• She hit 13 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 28 putts

• This is Hall’s third season on the LPGA Tour; she has victories at the 2018 AIG Women’s Open and the 2020 Cambia Portland Classic

• This is Hall’s 12th event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; she won the Cambia Portland Classic and has three other top-20 finishes

• This is Hall’s third appearance at the CME Group Tour Championship; her best finish is a tie for 11th in 2019

• Finished second in the 2018 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings

• Two-time member of Team Europe at the Solheim Cup (2017, 2019) with a 6-3-0 overall record

• In 2019, she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours

• Ranked first on the 2017 and 2018 LET Order of Merit, becoming the youngest player to win two consecutive LET Order of Merit titles

• Was born two days after Sir Nick Faldo won the Masters, which inspired her parents to name her Georgia