Aussies in the hunt at lucrative LPGA season-ender

The CME Group Tour Championship season-ender starts later tomorrow at the Tiburón Resort in Florida with Australia’s Minjee Lee currently ranked third in the order of merit, 1278 points behind leader, South Korea’s Jin Young Ko.

Lee is coming off a stellar season that includes nine top-10 finishes and a victory at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open back in April. Lee also brings to the season-ender some impressive form with a tied runners-up and third place finish from her last two starts.

Minjee Lee won the LA Open earlier this year (Credit: LPGA)

Another Aussie, Hannah Green also heads into the event with a top-20 position, currently ranked 19th following a standout 2019 season which had Green record two victories, including the Women’s PGA Championship back in June and more recently the winning the Cambia Portland Classic in August.

Sunday’s unprecedented prize pool at the CME Group Tour Championship sees US$1.5 million to the winner and, unlike previous years, anyone in the 60 player field can claim the winner’s purse. The total purse for the week is US$5 million and the biggest available so far on tour.

Jin Young Ko will start the tournament favourite with four victories this season. Ko has won two majors this year, the ANA Inspiration and The Evian Championship and she also claimed third in the AIG Women’s British Open and finished in the top 20 in both the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and US Women’s Open.

Add to the mix wins at the CP Women’s Open and the Bank of Hope Founders Cup and it’s easy to see why the South Korean is.