(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Multiple major winner Minjee Lee spearheads a four-strong Australian contingent at the final event of the LPGA Tour season, the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. Here is what you need to know about the LPGA Tour finale:
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What is it?
The LPGA Tour concludes this week at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, where the top 60 players in the Race to the CME Globe compete for a record $US4 million ($A6.1 million) winner’s prize, the biggest single payday in women’s golf. Round one starts late Thursday night AEDT.
Players and Aussies to Watch
The field is stacked with big names. Nelly Korda aims to close her season with a long-awaited first win at a venue where she owns seven top-10s. New Zealander Lydia Ko, a two-time winner at Tiburón, returns after a recent T-9 at the Maybank Championship.
Aussies: Perth star Lee, who added the 2025 Women’s PGA Championship to her major tally alongside the 2021 Evian and 2022 US Women’s Open, looks to finish strong after two top-10s in her last three starts. Lee has contended in Naples twice before, a T-8 in 2023 and T-5 in 2021.
Lee’s outstanding 2025 season has featured 21 starts, 20 cuts made, eight top-10 finishes and a third career major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Lee has amassed a whopping $US 3.8 million ($A5.8 million) in earnings this year.
Lee isn’t the only 2025 major winner from Australia to progress to the finale. Sydney product Grace Kim’s breakthrough year was highlighted by a stunning victory at the Evian Championship, her first major title, while in 21 LPGA starts she’s made 16 cuts made and posted four top-10s. Another Australian with a career major under her belt in the CME field is Perth’s Hannah Green, whose 2025 campaign yielded an impressive five top-10 results. Sydneysider Steph Kyriacou completes the Australian quartet in Naples and, like Green, has recorded five top-10 LPGA finishes this year.
Broadcast
Check Kayo Sports and Fox Sports for the TV windows.
Rookie Watch
Rookie Miyu Yamashita, already a two-time winner this season, makes her tournament debut and has locked up Rookie of the Year.
Jeeno Thitikul Defends
World No.1 Jeeno Thitikul returns as defending champion after her dramatic eagle-birdie finish to win by one in 2024. She arrives in elite form, with five top 10s and a win in her last seven starts, and is seeking her third victory of 2025. She has never finished outside the top 10 in Naples.
4. Awards on the Line
The Money Title, Vare Trophy and Rolex Player of the Year will all be decided this week. Thitikul leads POY by 16 points over Yamashita, who could make history with a win.
5. The Final Qualifiers
Nataliya Guseva, Lucy Li, Brooke Matthews and Pajaree Anannarukarn earned the final spots in dramatic fashion with clutch finishes last week at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.
