The CME Group Tour Championship is here, and only the top 60 players in the year-long Race to the CME Globe Standings will be in the field for the largest purse on the LPGA Tour. Here are five of the most notable players to miss the cut:
LILIA VU
Lilia Vu had an undeniably tough 2025. The two-time major champion came into the season ranked No. 5 in the Rolex Rankings, she is now ranked No. 36. Much of Vu’s struggles can be chalked up to her lingering injuries, that have impacted her the last two seasons, but even more in 2025. Vu made 19 starts and played the weekend just eight times. She had a top-10 finish early in the year in Arizona, but struggled to get much momentum other than that. Vu missed six cuts in a row during the middle of the summer, failing to make one between May and July. Vu finished No. 77 in the CME Standings.
ROSE ZHANG
It was just over a year ago that Zhang and Vu were representing the United States in the Olympics, but the young superstar also fell victim to injuries in her third season on the LPGA Tour. Because of the injury and her studies at Stanford, Zhang made just 14 starts and made seven cuts. Zhang did show some nice form down the stretch, finishing in the top 21 in Portland, Boston and at The Annika. Still, that late season success was not enough as she finished No. 84 in the CME Standings.
GABI RUFFELS
After a promising rookie season in 2024, Gabi Ruffels struggled to get into contention much. Compared to Vu and Zhang, Ruffels had a pretty consistent season. She played 24 events and made 18 cuts. The issue? She finished in the top 20 on the leaderboard just twice and never finished higher than T9. She did get some good momentum in the late summer, posting top 25 finishes in 3/5 events including at a major, The Evian Championship. While the young Australian showed she can consistently make cuts on the Tour, it was a bit of a sophomore slump as she finished No. 72 in the CME Standings.
AMY YANG
A year after winning her long-awaited major, Amy Yang couldn’t get any momentum in 2025. Yang struggled in 2024 as well, but had that covered up a bit by a fantastic performance at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Yang made 14 cuts in 19 starts, but hasn’t finished in the top 20 since February. Yang didn’t have any top-10 finishes on the season and really struggled throughout the middle of the season. She did have some nice results late, making her last three cuts and finishing top 50 in two of them, but it was a tough year for Yang, finishing No. 98 in the CME Standings.
ASHLEIGH BUHAI
Buhai is another major champion that has struggled mightily with injuries recently. Buhai began the season with back-to-back top 11 finishes, and was in position to win the JM Eagle LA Championship before re-injuring her knee in the third round. From there, the season was a struggle. Buhai finished in the top 20 only once after that event, just a couple weeks ago at the Maybank Championship. She went 14/22 on cuts despite making her first seven of the season. Buhai finished the season No. 80 in the CME Standings.
