The CME Group Tour Championship takes place at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Fla., and the top 60 players in the season-long Race to the CME Globe are competing for 72 holes and a total purse $11 million. The largest first-place check in women’s professional golf, $4 million will be given to the winner. Eighteen of the top 20 in the Rolex World Rankings are in the field ready to compete against seven-time 2024 winner Nelly Korda. Korda captured another title on Sunday at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

Korda may have nailed down Rolex Player of the Year honors, but a majority of the players competing can take home the season long money title with the $4 million winner’s check. The Gold Course at Tiburón Golf Club was designed by Greg Norman in 1998. Florida golf at its finest, players will be tested by 50 bunkers and 13 holes with water coming into play. Accuracy plays a big part in contending as the average winning score over the past 10 years is 18-under. Amy Yang set the tournament scoring record one year ago with a 27-under total.

Scoring is a huge focus for the field. When comparing the competitors across the odds board, look for players who have a high birdie percentage and save par often. That birdie to bogey ratio is really important every week, but it seems to really describe the best betting opportunities in scoring events like the CME Group Tour Championship. Jeeno Thitikul leads the LPGA Tour and is followed closely by Ayaka Furue, Korda and Haeran Ryu. Of course, these are all the favorites, but further down the board, also take a look at Jin Hee Im, Lilia Vu and Celine Boutier.

Boutier is of particular interest for two reasons. She has three straight top-16 results on the Gold Course and is an elite approach player. Wide fairways allow the field to finish in the short grass off the tee, so the best approach players can knock it close and create scoring chances. Boutier, Jin Young Ko and Ruoning Yin all are exceptional iron players. Ko has won this event twice, and Yin and has two wins in the last month. Considering the course conditions this week, our Wednesday forecast calls for rain. Just enough to soften the putting surfaces and make them receptive.

Proximity to the hole will also give players an advantage and the opportunity to compete with the elite but so will putting ability. The last two sets of top-10 finishers gained an average of three strokes on the field with their flatstick. Not all elite ball strikers are great putters, and in many cases, it is just the opposite. Thitikul is the outlier as she is ranked second on Tour in strokes gained putting. Others that putt well are Angel Yin, Madelene Sagstrom and Lexi Thompson. Sagstrom has three straight top-25 results at the CME Group Tour Championship.

The top 60 will be tested by each other more than the Gold Course. Keeping up with the contenders is key, and not all of the favorites possess the skills to do that. At the top, Jeeno Thitikul is hard to ignore. A great ball striker and putter, she could create a perfect scoring storm just as Amy Yang did a year ago. She has the firepower to stop Korda, who is sure to be involved Sunday afternoon.

With $4 million on the line, a number of players are going to waiver. Nothing raises the stakes like a massive purse. Multiple tournament winners in the middle of the board like Celine Boutier are on my card. Further away from the favorites, also look at Minjee Lee. Lee has struggled with her putting in 2024, but considering she finished in the top 15 last week and has two top eights in this event over the past three years, Minjee has enough major mettle to contend.

There’s a preview card, so who do you like? Weigh out the important characteristics needed to contend and build your own list. This is the last time we can predict the winner prior to 2025. Take advantage and capture one more win on the 2024 calendar.

Keith Stewart is an award-winning PGA Professional. He covers the LPGA and PGA TOUR for Golf Digest, SportsGrid, The Sporting News, LPGA, and PGA TOUR. If you are looking to raise your golf acumen and love inside information about the game, check out his weekly newsletter called Read The Line.

Who Will Take Home $4 Million at the CME Group Tour Championship?

Related Articles