This week’s CME Group Tour Championship is full of mystery. If you were to ask me who will win it, I couldn’t tell you.
This has been an exciting season on the LPGA Tour because there has not been a consensus player of the year. In a perfect world, Jeeno Thitikul (Chrome Tour X), leading the Race to CME Globe Ranking, repeats as the tournament winner. She became the world’s top-ranked woman player a few months ago, so clearly having her win would be the perfect ending for her. She has become one of the rising players not only on the LPGA Tour but in all of professional golf.
Last week was interesting because Linn Grant (Titleist Pro V1) won The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, becoming the fourth Swedish player on the LPGA Tour to win this season. She joined Ingrid Lindblad (Titleist Pro V1), Madelene Sagstrom (Callaway Chrome Tour) and Maja Stark (Titleist Pro V1).
This has not only become the year of parity on the LPGA Tour – with 29 different winners – but one in which America has been supplanted as the dominant nation. Australia, Japan, Sweden, Thailand and Korea have created a more diverse landscape. Moreover, several rookies have won.
Only Thitikul and Miyu Yamashita (Srixon Z-Star XV) have won more than one tournament this season.
Back in August before the start of the CKPC Canadian Women’s Open, Thitikul talked about the 2025 LPGA season and how hard it was to win.
“The level of competition is higher and higher, so it’s not easy,” she said.
Thitikul has posted five top-10s and a win in her last seven starts.
She’s been no worse than tied for 10th in her previous three starts in year-end championship tournament.
Nelly Korda (TaylorMade TP5x) won seven times last year on route to being named Player of the Year but has been winless this season. It will be interesting to see if she can reclaim some of her past magic.
Hall of Famer Lydia Ko (Titleist Pro V1x) would be another interesting story if she wins. She won on the course in 2022 and 2014. She was third a year ago.
Yamashita, second behind Thitikul in the CME Globe Ranking, locked up Rookie of the Year Honors last week in the Annika, placing 68th.
Minjee Lee (Callaway Chrome Tour X), third in the CME Globe Ranking, has two top-10 finishes in her last three starts.
According to Oddschecker.com, Thitikul is the favorite to win at 7-1, followed by Korda at 12-1, Charley Hull 14-1 (TaylorMade TP5x), Lee 16-1, Yamashita 18-1, Nasa Hataoka 20-1 (Srixon Z-Star Diamond), Sei Young Kim 20-1 (Titleist Pro V1), Ko 22-1, Hye Jin Choi 25-1 (Titleist Pro V1), Hyo Joo Kim 28-1 (Titleist Pro V1x), Grant 33-1, Lottie Woad 35-1 (Titleist Pro V1) and Mao Saigo 35-1 (Bridgestone Tour B XS).
JUST LIKE TIGER: Charlie Woods (Bridgestone Tour B X) helped his high school team win the Florida championship. The 16-year-old junior at Benjamin school in Palm Beach looks so much like his dad in his mannerisms. He will be interesting to watch in the next two years in terms of what he decides to do with his future, specifically whether to go directly to the pros or bide his time. If he goes to college or university, he will be able to make a fortune in endorsements.
I often wonder if Tiger dreams of playing on the PGA Tour with his son, if only for one tournament.
