The LPGA Tour faces the Annika Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican this week, the last stop of the regular calendar before the grand season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship, with much at stake beyond the media buzz surrounding the debut of Kai Trump. Two Spanish players are living their own countdown: Azahara Muñoz and Julia López Ramírez have a lot on the line this week. The first, her playing rights, and the one from Benahavis, to crown her first year in the elite.
Azahara arrives in Belleair (Florida) in a delicate position. The player from Málaga is ranked 105th in the Race to CME Globe, with 179,500 points, just 29,298 short of the cut currently set by Alexa Pano in 100th place with 208,798. It is the boundary that separates players with a secured card for 2026 from those who will have to return to qualifying school. The good news: Aza has been here before… and knows how to get out. In 2023, she achieved a spectacular second place in this very tournament when she needed it most. That performance kept her within the LPGA. This year, she doesn’t need a feat of that calibre: 27th is the minimum to bring out the calculator, but the reality is that it will probably be insufficient, it seems that a top twenty would virtually guarantee her the card without doing the math and depending on others. The 80th place, which marks an even better category, is just over 160 points away. A top four. Better to take it step by step.
The other big Spanish story in Florida has a rookie’s name. Julia López Ramírez, in her first full season on the LPGA, still dreams of sneaking into the select group of 60 players who will compete in the CME Group Tour Championship final. It would be the real icing on the cake. Right now, the one from Benahavis is 68th in the ranking, with 417,450 points, and needs one last push. The provisional cut is set by Cassie Porter (479,812), leaving Julia 62,362 points from the boundary. Translated: a top 12 gives her options, although it is most likely that she will need to finish among the top ten to keep the dream alive. Among the names of notable players fighting to save their playing rights are Hinako Shibuno, Sung HyunPark, the captain of the European Solheim team, Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall.
Meanwhile, Carlota Ciganda enjoys the tranquillity of 25th place and the already secured qualification for the final, her two compatriots face a different but equally demanding challenge. The player from Navarra still aspires to finish her best year on the circuit, it was in 2018 when she finished the year in eleventh position. She has two tournaments to achieve it.
