The last regular-season event of the LPGA season is always stressful. Players compete for the prize money at hand, of course, but many are also jockeying for a spot in the CME Group Tour Championship. Others are simply trying to keep their tour cards.
The Annika event at Pelican Golf Club in Florida was the last opportunity players had to finish in the top 60 on the CME points list for entrance into the tour championship and the chance to compete for the massive $4 million first-place prize. It’s also the last chance for players to eearn their respective tour cards by finishing inside the 100 on that same points list. Those who did not finish in the top 100, and aren’t otherwise exempt, have to head back to the tour’s Q-Series to try to earn status.
Here are four players who made crucial moves with their finishes at The Annika.
Lucy Li 
Julio Aguilar
Li, a former child prodigy now playing full-time on the LPGA, shot 65-66 on the weekend to tie for fourth place at The Annika. It’s her best finish of the season, and moved her from 71st to 58th on the CME points list, earning her a spot in the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples.
“I honestly came into this week with almost no confidence and I was really tired from being sick the last two weeks, so I just tried to make my goal being to have fun this week, and so it was nice to come through with three good rounds at the end,” Li said.
Brooke Matthews 
Julio Aguilar
Matthews came in firing on Sunday. She had a hole-in-one on 12 and an eagle on 14, finishing with a 65. She tied for ninth place, moving from No. 62 to No. 59, and will be going to the tour championship. “I still can’t believe it. I blacked out. I can’t wait to watch it on film because I still can’t really remember it,” Matthews said of the ace.
Nataliya Guseva 
Julio Aguilar
Guseva got into the tour championship in the most dramatic way possible: She holed out on 18 for birdie. She was No. 64 on the points list at the beginning of the week, and finished T-7 to move to No. 57.
https://twitter.com/LPGA/status/1990162701004197998
“Coming into this week, I didn’t really expect anything, just shot by shot, hole by hole and kind of had that animal mentality,” Guseva said. “Just was trying to go for every pin and give myself all the chances that I could give myself.”
Alexa Pano 
Vaughn Ridley
Heading into The Annika, Pano sat precariously in the 100th spot on the CME points list. If just one player moved ahead of her, she’d be back to Q-Series, trying to earn her tour card for the 2026 season in the most grueling way possible. But she finished T-36 at The Annika, moving up three spots to 97th, securing her card and avoiding the stresses of Q Series.
With Li, Matthews and Guseva all moving into the top 60, Jenny Shin, Wei-Ling Hsu and Cassie Porter were those who fell outside after The Annika, and are not eligible for the tour championship. Hsu missed the cut and dropped from 59th to 62nd. Porter was right on the 60th spot to start the week and her 56th-place tie dropped her to 64th. Shin tied for 52nd place and dropped three spots, from 58th to 61st.
“Didn’t really think I’d get kicked off the CME list to be honest, what a silly thought,” Shin said on social media. “Thank you for all the support in 2025, see you soon!”
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
