CME Group Tour Championship: Lexi, Lewis, Icher, Hull among those giving chase
The four leaders in the CME Group Tour Championship have four established Solheim Cup veterans experienced in Sunday pressure breathing down their neck.
Americans Lexi Thompson and Stacy Lewis enter the final round at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in the chase for the $500,000 first prize at 9 under par along with Karine Icher of France.
Another shot back is confident Charley Hull of England, the defending champion of the climatic season-ending event that gives $1 million to the winner of the season-long Race to the CME Globe.
No fewer than 18 players are either leading or within two shots of the lead entering the final round and four more players are another shot back.
Thompson, the top-ranked American player who will win the CME Globe with a victory, finished with a 3-under-par 69 after starting the round with a double bogey on the par 5 opening hole. She was bogey-free the next 17 holes and made a birdie on the final hole.
“Yeah, I fought back, birdied the second hole and just tried to stay positive,” Thompson said. “My caddie, Kevin, helped me out a lot.
‘Just hit a few bad shots on that first hole, really bad shots. Then I fired at the pins and hit some great shots coming in and made a lot of nice putts.”
CME Group Tour Championship: Jutanugarns, Kordas turning LPGA into sister act
Thompson planned on staying low key prior to the final round.
“This tournament is one of my favorites because it’s so close to home but I’m not going into (Sunday) with any different attitude,” she said. “Just go out there, free swing, and try to do my best, how I played my last 17 holes today. That’s my mindset.
“I’m going to try something different Sunday since there is that bit of adrenaline, but you have to tame it and control it."
Lewis rebounded from a two-year winless spell with an August win in Portland, Oregon and like Thompson will enter the final round calm and focused.
“There’s a lot of relief now and I’m not putting so much pressure on myself trying to win,” said Lewis, who shot a 67. “I know it will take some good golf and things falling your way.
“I’ve played better every day this week but even today wasn’t perfect by many means. I played some of the harder holes good, I just need to play the par 5s a little better and then I would like my position a little more. I’ll watch the leaderboard (Sunday), see what people are doing. You know what it takes to win; it’s just hard to free your mind up to actually do it.”
Southwest Florida golf: Annika, Lexi play in Immokalee Foundation charity event
Lewis has a mathematical shot at the $1 million CME Globe prize.
“I don’t really think I have a chance, but I do have a chance to win the tournament, and that’s what I’ll be focusing on,” she said.
Hull was full of her typical cheerfulness despite also starting with a double bogey.
“I was going for the green in two and just topped it in the water because it was in a bit of a downslope, but apart from that I played pretty well,” Hull said. “(Saturday) I could have been 8 or 9 under, but didn’t hole any putts but today I made a few after the first hole.
“I won here last year, so just kind of keeping that in mind."
Icher was in her usual matter-of-fact manner after the round.
“Sunday will be interesting but it’s just another round of golf and I’ve been in this position so many times and never won,” Icher said. “I’ll just play my game with no scoreboard watching.”
