2023 CME Group Tour Championship (Nov 16 - 19)

[Argonne69]

Race to the CME Globe: 500 Points

 

Format: 72 holes

 

Purse: $7,000,000

 

Location: Tiburon Golf Club, Gold Course, Naples, FL

 

Par: 72

 

Yardage: 6,556 yds

 

History: This is the 10th year for the event. In 2022, Lydia Ko shot two under on Sunday for a two-stoke wire-to-wire victory over Leona Maguire.

 

Coverage:

 

Nov 16: Peacock 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (ET)

Nov 16: The Golf Channel 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm (ET)

 

Nov 17: Peacock 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (ET)

Nov 17: The Golf Channel 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm (ET)

 

Nov 18: Peacock 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm (ET)

Nov 18: The Golf Channel 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm (ET)

 

Nov 19 NBC 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm (ET)

 

[Argonne69]

Disappointing TV coverage for the grand finale. 

 

I'd say there are a couple dozen players capable of winning this week. Gotta play smart on this tough course. Birdies are out there, but so are the bogies or worse.

 

[Rapidcat]

Obviously Leona's title to lose as she is the defacto default defending champion with Lydia not qualifying.

[JungleJimbo]

The chatter on the Golf Channel = that LPGA execs are determined to avoid a repeat of last year's embarassments i.e. when CME CEO Terry Duffy expressed disappointment at various no-shows from LPGA players at sponsor/host events. 

 

(timestamp ~11m13s in this video ... I'm guessing that by having this discussed on Golf Channel today = one way to reinforce the message to LPGA players/executives, etc? )
 

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by JungleJimbo

[Seamus_McDuff]

42 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Race to the CME Globe: 500 Points

 

Format: 72 holes

 

Purse: $7,000,000

 

Location: Tiburon Golf Club, Gold Course, Naples, FL

 

Par: 72

 

Yardage: 6,556 yds

 

History: This is the 10th year for the event. In 2022, Lydia Ko shot two under on Sunday for a two-stoke wire-to-wire victory over Leona Maguire.

 

Coverage:

 

Nov 16: Peacock 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (ET)

Nov 16: The Golf Channel 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm (ET)

 

Nov 17: Peacock 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (ET)

Nov 17: The Golf Channel 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm (ET)

 

Nov 18: Peacock 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm (ET)

Nov 18: The Golf Channel 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm (ET)

 

Nov 19 NBC 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm (ET)

 

 

So Saturday on GC is tape-delayed. Even the LET event is getting three hours each day on GC this week. 

[Lobby]

If I had been the lpga CEO, I’d have had a talking to with the head of cme 

 

That loudmouth damaged the lpga brand by badmouthing the players. 
 

imagine a player talking crap about a sponsor?  Heads would roll. 
 

That was a complete sh*tshow. Shame on him. 

[grm24]

4 hours ago, Seamus_McDuff said:

 

So Saturday on GC is tape-delayed. Even the LET event is getting three hours each day on GC this week. 

PGA Tour event is being shown live 1-4pm on Saturday on GC. At least the ladies get NBC network coverage on Sunday. NBC on Saturday is televising Notre Dame womens college basketball starting at 1:00 pm and then ND football at 3:30. Not certain where/when it could be televised live on Saturday.

Edited November 14, 2023 by grm24

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, Lobby said:

If I had been the lpga CEO, I’d have had a talking to with the head of cme 

 

That loudmouth damaged the lpga brand by badmouthing the players. 
 

imagine a player talking crap about a sponsor?  Heads would roll. 
 

That was a complete sh*tshow. Shame on him. 

 

CME Group ponies up the biggest purse of the year. I know there was some miscommunication, but shouldn't more than a handful of players show up for the banquet? 

 

[MJ2712]

6 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Disappointing TV coverage for the grand finale. 

 

Looks like somebody listened 😁. Featured groups coverage all 4 days on ESPN+. Hopefully on the LPGA website for the non-US viewers 🙏

 

 

[grm24]

15 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

CME Group ponies up the biggest purse of the year. I know there was some miscommunication, but shouldn't more than a handful of players show up for the banquet? 

IIRC there weren't any players that showed up for the banquet. The head of The CME group had every right to be upset.

[tonyj5]

My field rating for this final event of 2023 is a solid 64% (down from 66 % last year).
My breakdown is 64% from the LPGA Priority List and also 64% from the Rolex Rankings.
The reason the field rating isn't higher than it is, is that this a field of just 60 players and the players not in the top 60 of the Race to the CME globe did not qualify.
Make no mistake about it....in spite of the smaller field...all the top ranked players are here! 
Every LPGA member that is ranked in the top 30 of this week's world rankings will be teeing it up except Lydia Ko (finished 100th in Race to CME Globe), and Lexi Thompson (finished 77th).

Other Stuff:
Congratulations go out to Hae Ran Ryu for winning the 2023 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year Award.
Congrats also to Angel Yin for winning the AON Risk Reward Challenge. That award comes with a life changing 1 million dollar prize!
Congrats to Lilia Vu for winning her fourth tournament of the year (2 of them major championships).
Vu appears to be in the drivers seat for the player of the year award. If she finishes in 7th place or better this week at the CMA, the award is hers. If she fails to finish in the top seven, Celine Boutier will have to win the tournament to win the award. The award comes with a Hall of Fame point!
The Vare Trophy is still up for grabs, but has come down to two players. Atthaya Thitikul has a small lead over Hyo Joo Kim.

Lilia Vu's win was the 10th win this year by a player from the United States. No other country has more than four. The LPGA has had winners from ten different countries this year.

In the Race to the CME globe, where you had to get into the top 60 to qualify for this week's event:
Patty Tavatanikit (61-57) and Stephanie Kyriacou (71-56) were the big winners.
Celine Borge (58-62), and Albane Valenzuela (59-63) lost out at the end.
Lydia Ko is the first defending champion in the history of the event to not qualify the following year.
There were many players who failed to finish in the top 100 and retain their full time playing privileges for next year. Just to name a few interesting ones:
Mina Haragae
Ponanong Phatlum
Lucy Li
Yealimi Noh
Chella Choi
Annie Park
Pernilla Lindberg

There was some key movement by LPGA players in the Rolex Rankings this week:
Lilia Vu took back the top spot. She has now spent a total of 10 weeks at No. 1 this year.
Alison Lee continues her late surge 35 to 27.
Ariya Jutanugarn jumps from 60 to 53.
Stephanie Kyriacou leaps from 94 to 78.
Minami Katsui surges from 86 to 79.
Outside the top 100:
Azahara Munoz moves up 143 notches 240 to 97.
Emily Pedersen rises from 137 to 107.

[AKL Kiwi]

59 minutes ago, tonyj5 said:

Make no mistake about it....in spite of the smaller field...all the top ranked players are here! 

So what is your definition of top ranked players? I'd say anyone in the RR top 10 would be classified as top ranked. 😟 

I'm kind of glad Lyd's is not in the field at least someone else will win the biggest purse of the season. Despite having an ordinary season she will still probably finish the year RR top 10 and prizemoney of over US$1 million! 

[Seamus_McDuff]

3 hours ago, grm24 said:

PGA Tour event is being shown live 1-4pm on Saturday on GC. At least the ladies get NBC network coverage on Sunday. NBC on Saturday is televising Notre Dame womens college basketball starting at 1:00 pm and then ND football at 3:30. Not certain where/when it could be televised live on Saturday.

 

USA Network

[grm24]

54 minutes ago, Seamus_McDuff said:

USA Network

Had forgotten about USA Network. That makes great sense. Especially since on Saturday afternoon USA is showing nothing but re-runs of Shark Tank. 😒

Edited November 14, 2023 by grm24

[pjc]

Don't want to jinx it, but I believe in Alison Lee for this one!

[JungleJimbo]

4 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

CME Group ponies up the biggest purse of the year. I know there was some miscommunication, but shouldn't more than a handful of players show up for the banquet? 

 

 

4 hours ago, grm24 said:

IIRC there weren't any players that showed up for the banquet. The head of The CME group had every right to be upset.

https://www.golfwrx.com/700059/major-sponsor-tears-into-lpga-leadership-over-dinner-fiasco/

 

Quote

 

...extract/quote: 

 

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols filed a report on Saturday, clearly stating that CME chief, Terry Duffy, was unhappy with the way the tour conducted itself at the pre-championship dinner.

CME are the largest backer of events on the LPGA and the flamboyant dinner should have been a chance for politicians and business moguls to honor the select number of players invited to the shindig.

 

However, according to Nichols, “when Duffy asked for the houselights to be turned on so that he could applaud the players in the room, the only people standing were those serving the tables.”

 

“Not a single player showed up,” she confirmed.

Having invested heavily into the tour for 11 years, Duffy rightly felt this was a snub.

 

Quote

 

“It’s an embarrassment to a company of my size and an embarrassment to me personally,” said Duffy, two days after the event.

Duffy’s beef isn’t with the players, though — it’s with who’s at the helm.

“I am exceptionally disappointed with the leadership of the LPGA,” he continued. “They better get their act together because they’re going to lose people like me over stuff like this.”

 

 

https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/11/19/lpga-cme-group-ceo-exceptionally-disappointed-with-leadership-ahead-of-record-payday/

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by JungleJimbo

[Titleist_PT23]

5 hours ago, Lobby said:

If I had been the lpga CEO, I’d have had a talking to with the head of cme 

 

That loudmouth damaged the lpga brand by badmouthing the players. 
 

imagine a player talking crap about a sponsor?  Heads would roll. 
 

That was a complete sh*tshow. Shame on him. 

See the other replies.  Wait, I forgot, we can never ever say anything critiquing a player (only rah rah rah!!!).

 

Last year was one of the more clueless displays by both the LPGA leadership and the players.

[Titleist_PT23]

56 minutes ago, pjc said:

Don't want to jinx it, but I believe in Alison Lee for this one!

Would be a good outcome.  She's capable of more decent results (at least relative to the years in the tank), but the hot streaks tend to only last so long.  Need to cash in while things are firing on all cylinders!

[18majors]

Good luck, Jin Young!  For thosw who don't know:

 

Jin Young Ko dealing with knee injury, to undergo MRI ahead of Tour Championship

[Titleist_PT23]

Quietly, a very strong year for the USA.  I think it was mentioned before by someone else, but they (and not ROK) would send four players to the Olympics based on Rolex Rankings.  I wonder if Ji Yai Shin will make a push to stay in the Top 15 and play?  ROK's next player is actually quite a bit down the list (#29), although a lot can change in half a year with wins.

 

Also, looks like only four players finished < 70 scoring average, the low since 2018 (2022 = 14, 2021 = 13, 2019 =10, 2017 = 12).  Not sure if this is just the ebbs and flows based on when players tee it up and conditions?  Seems like there are more and more low scores but maybe that's not the case.

[MagicClassic407]

Just arrived in Naples today to vounteer for this one. Raining and local flooding but the area needs it. Ugh. I'm scheduled tomorrow to score for the ProAm. They moved it up an hour (shotgun start) AND justed announced every "walking scorer" will get a golf cart. Never experienced that before. The stage was being erected today for tomorrow night's concert here: Carrie Underwood.🤠 Hopefully it will happen.

 

 

 

[JungleJimbo]

 

 

[woahnelly]

Quite a conglomerate of nations make up the top 60. Only ONE Trojan in Allisen Corpuz so that's where my rooting interest lies. Jennifer Chang had a poor season after finishing 77th to 140s this year, shell join Annie, Muni, Gabby Then, Jen Song, Salas (?!) et others at Q school but the future is bright with Gaby Ruffels looking to be a mainstay next year and Amari Avery, Bailey Shoemaker coming up soon. 

[grm24]

5 minutes ago, woahnelly said:

Jennifer Chang had a poor season after finishing 77th to 140s this year, shell join Annie, Muni, Gabby Then, Jen Song, Salas (?!) et others at Q school  

Salas was hurt for part of this season. Does the LPGA have any type of medical extension for injured players like the PGA Tour does? Or would Salas be exempt for 2024 due to her team win at the Dow Great Lakes event last season as an official LPGA win comes with a 2 year exemption.

[JungleJimbo]

9 minutes ago, grm24 said:

Salas was hurt for part of this season. Does the LPGA have any type of medical extension for injured players like the PGA Tour does? Or would Salas be exempt for 2024 due to her team win at the Dow Great Lakes event last season as an official LPGA win comes with a 2 year exemption.

yes. can look at the LPGA Priority List (e.g. the 2023-August linked here, as example).

There will be some players listed as medical exemption/ maternity leave etc.

 

https://www.lpga.com/-/media/files/priority-list/2023/2023-lpgaprioritylist082123.pdf

 

On your specific Lizette Salas question... sorry not sure on the process w.r.t. applying for the medical exemption/ deadlines.   Googled but didn't find a copy of the LPGA player handbook (there was a LPGA Handbook Link on these forums ... once upon a time!)

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by JungleJimbo

[GolfMoose]

3 hours ago, Titleist_PT23 said:

Also, looks like only four players finished < 70 scoring average, the low since 2018 (2022 = 14, 2021 = 13, 2019 =10, 2017 = 12).  Not sure if this is just the ebbs and flows based on when players tee it up and conditions?

Interesting.  Maybe also "where". The majors using marquee courses like Pebble and Baltrusol and the Chevron relocating doesn't seem to be a big factor based on a very superficial look. Something like the CPKC though, this year in Vancouver there were only two players <280, last year in Ottawa there was 55 such players. SYK improved from a T9 to T4 result but her actual stroke score was up by 10 year over year.

 

Four of the people who were under that mark in both 2021 and 2022 but were not this year though are Lexi, Danielle K, Brooke, Nelly.  

[woahnelly]

1 hour ago, grm24 said:

Salas was hurt for part of this season. Does the LPGA have any type of medical extension for injured players like the PGA Tour does? Or would Salas be exempt for 2024 due to her team win at the Dow Great Lakes event last season as an official LPGA win comes with a 2 year exemption.

 

Yes she will play under the category 4 exemption due to winning within 2 years. Forgot about that W, seems like ages ago 😂

 

There is medial exemptions, don't know the specific requirements, but I know Liz Szokol got to play under her top 80 priority from 2021 due to missing X number of starts in 2022. 

[jimecherry]

43 minutes ago, GolfMoose said:

Interesting.  Maybe also "where". The majors using marquee courses like Pebble and Baltrusol and the Chevron relocating doesn't seem to be a big factor based on a very superficial look. Something like the CPKC though, this year in Vancouver there were only two players <280, last year in Ottawa there was 55 such players. SYK improved from a T9 to T4 result but her actual stroke score was up by 10 year over year.

 

Four of the people who were under that mark in both 2021 and 2022 but were not this year though are Lexi, Danielle K, Brooke, Nelly.  

official rounds was down so maybe its a sample size issue. check back after playoffs.

Edited November 15, 2023 by jimecherry

[JungleJimbo]

15 hours ago, DuenPhen said:

 

Yeah the biggest issue I have with this quality is that it’s not what the golfer lacks, but what prejudice the media/audience have.

 

Ask most people in my golf watching group (Thai and foreign) and Jeeno is the most watchable golfer on the planet. She hits it long, grabs birdies by a hatful, very consistent, and is an absolute sweetheart.
 

But I watch Golf Channel and she’s just another outsider because she doesn’t carry the right flag or the right name. At this point I don’t think it’s even the audience, it’s the media who is unable to see beyond their template of their imaginary audience.

 

"+1" i.e. hoping Atthaya has a breakout moment/ becomes a superstar! Lovely demeanour & very watchable.

 

 

 

[DuenPhen]

1 hour ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

"+1" i.e. hoping Atthaya has a breakout moment/ becomes a superstar! Lovely demeanour & very watchable.

 

 

 

Ha thanks for the mention.

 

The choices of featured groups though say it all. Pretty much all generic Americans. And when one of the choice is literally the worst pairing in the field….

Edited November 15, 2023 by DuenPhen