Jeeno Thitikul (-26) left no room for surprises on the final day of the CME Group Tour Championship. The Thai golfer delivered a card of 68 strokes this Sunday and confirmed her victory in the grand finale of the LPGA Tour. It’s her second consecutive win in this tournament. Another four million dollars in the pocket.
Thitikul, World Number One, left nothing behind. She leads the world ranking, has won the Race to CME Globe, has been chosen as Player of the Year, and also took home the award for the best scoring average of the season (68.681), a trophy known as the Glenna Collett Vare Trophy. She is the third golfer in 75 years to score below 69 strokes. Incredible.
Thitikul repeated her triumph in the grand finale of the LPGA Tour, which means pocketing a four million dollar cheque twice. It’s astounding. In the last year, from final to final, she has won 13,637,639 dollars. That’s more money than Jorge Campillo has accumulated in his entire career on the DP World Tour. It’s true that Thitikul is the World Number One, but let’s not forget that Campillo has three wins on the European circuit and ranks 59th on the Tour’s all-time earnings list. It’s a testament to the good health the LPGA Tour is currently enjoying.
Thitikul won with a four-stroke lead over Pajaree Anannarukarn (-22), a fellow Thai who reached this final through the back door, just in 60th place, and leaves with a one million dollar cheque. In third position, six strokes behind the winner, finished Nelly Korda (-20). Meanwhile, Mexican Gaby López (-19) ends the season with an absolutely sensational weekend, with a 17 under par score, signing the best cards on Saturday and Sunday. She finished fourth on her own.
Finally, Carlota Ciganda (-7) bid farewell to the year with a card of 70 strokes. Her final nine holes were a spectacle with a bit of everything. She achieved three birdies, an eagle, a bogey, and a double bogey. She wasn’t bored. The Navarrese is already on her way to Spain to play the Spanish Open starting next Thursday at the Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf.
