[Photo: Mohd Rasfan]
Natalyia Guseva was in a similar predicament last season. The Russian golfer was outside the top 60 spots in the Race to the CME Globe standings with one event remaining.
The Annika, the final tournament before the CME Group Tour Championship, was the last attempt she’d have to move up from 64th into one of the top spots battling to play for an $US11 million purse ($A16 million) and $US4 million winner’s pay cheque.
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Guseva hit an unbelievable final shot to make the field, holing out from 99 metres to birdie the 72nd hole at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. That shot moved her to 57th in the standings after a final-round 68 and she made the CME Group Tour Championship field of 60. Guseva ended up finishing T-36 in the season finale and ultimately finished 57th in the overall standings.
“Obviously, it was an amazing experience, and I was kind of in the same position as I’m in right now, at 63, in the CME rankings,” Guseva said on Tuesday ahead of the start of The Annika. “I’m not putting too much pressure on myself. I’ve had a good season. I remember last year, after my third round I shot seven-under and that put me in the final group and playing with Linn [Grant, who would go on to win] and Jennifer [Kupcho].
“The last day was amazing with crowds. I wasn’t playing the best that Sunday but on the 18th I wasn’t in a bunker and I laid up. My caddie and I had a good number. We had to put it close. We had 95 metres to the pin, and I just remember telling myself I had to put it close to get into CME.
“Whenever I saw the ball in the air, I was just trying to see how close it was going to be, and I couldn’t see the hole. I saw the crowd going crazy. It was an amazing experience. It was probably the most fun I’ve had on the golf course.”
The 23-year-old and some other big names are in a similar spot, needing to play well to catapult themselves into the top 60. Guseva needs to finish 48th or better to have a chance. It’s not an exact science on how to get in the top 60, given a good performance can still be affected by how others play.
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There were 24 players who competed in September’s Solheim Cup, won by Europe, and beyond American Angel Yin, currently still in the CME at 58th, there are eight outside the bubble heading into The Annika. The US players are Lindy Duncan (74th and needing to finish fifth or better), Andrea Lee (77th, fourth or better) and extreme long shot Megan Khang (105th). The Europeans are Julia Lopez Ramirez (66th, 26th or better), Nanna Koertz Madsen (68th, 11th or better), Linn Grant (84th), Nastasia Nadaud (86th) and Mimi Rhodes (104th).
Lopez Ramirez, 23, just played three of the LPGA’s Asia events and had a top-10 finish at the Maybank Championship, as did Guseva. Lopez Ramirez has been dealing with a neck issue as well. Guseva said she was also jet-lagged from the four events on this most recent Asia swing, which concluded on Sunday at the Toto Classic in Japan. She also had a top-10 at the Maybank.
The Spaniard didn’t reach the CME Group Tour Championship last year, but she’s got a shot to get in the field it this season. She can figure out the odds, but she’d rather focus on her play this week.
“I know I’m borderline. I want to have a good week this week, and the rest will take care of itself if I make it to CME,” Lopez Ramirez said. “It’s trying to focus on this week and make my best of this week. If I do that, the points won’t be an issue. That’s what I’m trying to focus on. Don’t get too far ahead thinking about CME.”
Among some of the other well-known players outside of the bubble are Ariya Jutanugarn, a 12-time LPGA winner and two-time major champion, who is at 76th in the standings; American 24-year-old Lucy Li, who attended the Americans’ pre-Solheim camp and is 70th; and three-time major winner Minjee Lee, who has only two top-10 finishes this year and stands 79th after finishing last on the weekend in Japan.
