NAPLES, Fla. — Narin An handled windy conditions with a hot putter Thursday, making four straight birdies on the turn and finishing with an 8-under 64 for a one-shot lead at the CME Group Tour Championship.
At stake in the 60-player field is a $4 million prize for the winner, the largest one-day prize in women’s golf.
Nelly Korda has already won more than that in her perfect seven-win season. He now faces an eight-shot deficit over the next three days at Tiburon Golf Club if he wants to end his year in fitting fashion.
Korda, coming off a win last week, couldn’t make up for his three bogeys and had to settle for an even-par 72. He’s four behind his winning streak, and still has 54 holes to play. But it made the job very difficult.
It all sounded easy to An, the 28-year-old South Korean who has never won on the LPGA and has never cracked the top 10 in any of the 16 majors he has played.
“Today my putt was very good,” said An. “The speed was good, the situation was good. I just tried to focus a little bit.”
He was one shot behind Angel Yin, who shot a 30 on the back nine, including an eagle on the par-5 17th hole that most players would easily reach in two.
Former US Women’s Open champion Allisen Corpuz and Marina Alex had 66s, with Lydia Ko leading the pack with a 67.
Despite the typical wind on Florida’s Gulf Coast, 27 players — nearly half the field — shot in the 60s.
“It’s a great start to the big prize we get at the end of the week,” said Yin.
Whoever wins this week is guaranteed to break the LPGA’s 17-year-old record for most earnings in a season. The record was set by Lorena Ochoa in 2007 at $4,364,994, back when the total prize money was about half of what it is now. Ochoa earned $1 million for winning the Tour Championship in 2007.
The opening round followed the LPGA Tour’s big awards night, where Korda officially claimed his first player of the year award, which he won earlier this month.
Ko was honored in his senior year, highlighted by an Olympic gold medal that inducted him into the LPGA hall of fame. He also focused heavily on the opening round on the course he won just two years ago.
“The course is not easy,” said Ko. “I set a goal to shoot 3 under today, and somebody shot 8 under. I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I need to make a few birdies.’ It’s a course that can get away from you because you can’t shoot low scores, so I try to stick to my game plan from there.”
In the 67-year-old group was Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela, who is already celebrating a big year with his performance in the Solheim Cup and his first Tour Championship appearance.
He made a late run to his first LPGA title last week at Pelican Golf Club and maintained his form. And you see the last line, which is fascinating.
“Everybody is looking at that $4 million,” Valenzuela said. “I try not to focus too much on the result. I feel like in the past I was always stuck on the results, and in the end all I can do is control my cycle, my energy, my dedication.
“It’s the last week of the year. It’s like bonus week. No matter what happens, everybody gets paid.”
Source link
