6 Big Names In Danger Of Missing LPGA Tour's CME Group Tour Championship

There is just one more tournament on the LPGA Tour calendar before the CME Group Tour Championship takes place, and more than a handful of big names are in real danger of missing out on the season finale in Naples, Florida later this month.

Nelly Korda - who last week was confirmed as the Rolex Player of the Year thanks to six wins and nine other top-10s - comfortably leads the Race To CME Globe standings on 3,735.819 points ahead of Haeran Ryu in second on 2,829.392 points and is therefore under no pressure to make it through at The Annika this week.

However, there are plenty of her rivals who are in desperate need of a strong result if they are to catapult themselves into the top-60. Only those golfers will move on to Tiburon Golf Club and stand a chance of winning the Race To CME Globe title.

From Solheim Cup stars to Major champions, several high-profile players could well walk away from Pelican Golf Club this week full of disappointment and wondering what might have been.

Below are just six LPGA Tour stars who are in danger of missing the CME Group Tour Championship...

Hinako Shibuno (62nd in Race To CME Globe)

The 2019 AIG Women's Open champion is right on the outside looking in as things stand. Shibuno will need to finish at least solo 26th if she is to stand a chance of reaching the top-60 at the end of a season where she only has two top-10s to her name from 23 starts.

However, if previous form is anything to go by, the signs are not promising. The Japanese player has failed to break into the top-45 in any of her past 10 starts.

Carlota Ciganda (63rd)

A seven-time Ladies European Tour champion, Ciganda has only won twice on the LPGA Tour - with her most recent victory coming in 2016.

Fast forward to 2024, the Spaniard has three top-10s from 20 starts and suffered a pretty disappointing Solheim Cup as well, scoring just one point from four matches as Team USA ensured she was not able to repeat her heroics from 12 months prior.

To make the final event of the LPGA Tour season, Ciganda is going to need a top-20 finish, in all likelihood.

Ashleigh Buhai (65th)

Buhai is in a similar position to Shibuno, only the South African is in much better form. A couple of top-10s since the start of September prove that the top-15 she is likely going to need is not out of the question.

The 2022 AIG Women's Open champion had not managed to find the first page of the leaderboard in her first 17 LPGA tournaments this term, though, so this Fall burst may have arrived a little too late.

Alison Lee (67th)

With a circa 85-point gap to navigate this week, the US Solheim Cup winner is looking at needing a top-eight result at the very least if she is to progress on to the CME Group Tour Championship.

Lee has four top-10s from 18 starts this year, but her form has been quite poor since a T8th result at the Canadian Women's Open in July - breaking into the top-30 just once from six starts and missing the cut or withdrawing in three others.

Anna Nordqvist (73rd)

Anna Nordqvist is almost certainly going to miss out on the CME Group Tour Championship, unless she can conjure up a remarkable result of third or better at The Annika.

The Swede has not managed a top-10 from 21 starts this season, but she did manage two points from four matches at the Solheim Cup back in September. Nordqvist secured a couple of top-20 finishes around that time, but her two best results otherwise have been T12th.

Georgia Hall (75th)

Hall is another who requires a finish of T3rd or better in Naples this week, but with only one top-10 otherwise this season, the odds do not appear to be in her favor.

The 2018 AIG Women's Open champion also earned two points from four matches at RTJ Golf Club and she exhibited some of what she is capable of in the process, and her form around that time was pretty good. But Hall has to compete for the title this week, something she has failed to do very often on the LPGA Tour this year.