The Race to the CME Globe Standings have been around for 10 years now, tracking the season-long results of the LPGA players. The standings themselves have gone through a few phases.
The first phase of the CME Standings did not culminate in a winner-takes-all final event as it does now. Here, I will break down those first five seasons of the Race to the CME Globe.
2014 – 2015: LYDIA KO
The CME Standings were established in the era of prime Lydia Ko, so it should be no surprise that she won the first two titles.
In 2014, she actually did win the CME Group Tour Championship in a three-way playoff with Julieta Granada and Carlota Ciganda. The playoff went four holes before Ko emerged victorious. It was Ko’s third win of the season and added to her startling 15 top-10 finishes.
2015 was arguably Ko’s best season on tour, especially down the stretch. Ko won five times including her second-career major at the Evian Championship. In her last seven events of the season, Ko finished in the top-10 every time and won three of those events. She did not win the Tour Championship though, as Cristie Kerr came out victorious there.
2016 – Ariya Jutanugarn
Ariya Jutanugarn burst onto the scene in her second season on the LPGA Tour, winning five events, including the Women’s British Open. It was almost even stronger, if she didn’t have a disastrous collapse at Mission Hills early in the season. Jutanugarn made 27 cuts in 28 events played and finished in the top 10 in four of the five majors. Jutanugarn had 16 top-10 finishes overall, easily winning her first LPGA Player of the Year award.
2017 – Lexi Thompson
To this day, Lexi Thompson in 2017 is still the only American player to win The Race to the CME Globe. While Thompson only won twice that season, she accumulated points through remarkable consistency. Thompson made 20 out of 21 cuts, and finished in the top 10 in half of those appearances. She had a runner-up finish at Mission Hills and at the Tour Championship. She also added to more second place finishes to that resumé. While So Yeon Ryu and Sung Hyun Park shared LPGA Tour Player of the Year, Thompson led the tour in scoring average, winning her only Vare Trophy.
2018 – Ariya Jutanugarn
Ariya Jutanugarn won her second Player of the Year and CME Globe with one of the most incredible recent LPGA Tour seasons. Jutanugarn made all 28 cuts on the year, finishing in the top 10 for 17 of them. Jutanugarn also won three events, including her second major title at the U.S. Women’s Open and finished in the top five at three of the majors. The gap between Jutanugarn and runner-up Brooke Henderson, was almost equivalent to the gap between Henderson and the ninth place finisher, Lydia Ko.
