The regular season of the LPGA comes to an end this week, and its last stop is at the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. After this, only the year’s final remains with the CME Group Tour Championship, which gathers the top 60 of the year.
This tournament is a final in itself for many golfers, especially for those fighting to keep their card on the American circuit, who are betting everything on this last chance. It’s not the only battle at stake; many others can make the leap and get into the last tournament of the season. Immersed in each of these two contests, we find Azahara Muñoz and Carlota Ciganda.
Aza arrives in Florida needing to sprint. She is in 112th place in the Race and would currently lose her LPGA membership. Twelve positions separate her from the safety spots.
Just a year ago, she arrived in a more favourable situation, but in a sense comparable. She landed right on the wire, in 100th place in the ranking. The Andalusian’s performance that week was impeccable, pulling out her best result of the year by finishing in second place. There’s no better mirror to look into.
Calculator in hand, she doesn’t need to finish that high to secure a card, although if the result repeats, I don’t think she’d mind. Azahara arrives in Florida with 170.34 points in the Race. The cut for the top hundred is currently marked by Yuri Yoshida with 229.37 points. A difference of just over 59 points. The minimum required to catch up with the Japanese player is a solo 13th place. It’s likely that result won’t be enough since Yoshida herself could score or any of the players behind Yoshida could score more. That 13th place is the minimum to start dreaming. However, the approximate calculation to secure the card is a top 10, which would currently allow her to catch up with Canadian Savannah Grewal (242.73), who is in 96th place. With that result, always depending on other outcomes, it’s realistic to think Azahara will be a full LPGA member.
On the other hand, there’s Carlota Ciganda. The Navarrese is in 63rd place, very close to getting into the top 60 of the year in the Race to CME Globe, but she needs a few more strokes.
Since 2013, Carlota hasn’t missed her annual appointment with the season’s final tournament and will try to extend the spectacular streak for another year.
To reach the Naples event, she needs at least a solo 22nd place, which would surpass Stephanie Kyriacou. Like Aza, that result is likely not enough to get in, but it’s the minimum from which to start calculating. With a solo 11th, she would surpass in the projection Leona Maguire, who is in 57th place with 704 points. Carlota would reach 709.
Aza and Carlota, two different fights but with very similar needs. Seeing the Spanish players in the top ten would be fantastic news.
