CME Group Tour Championship: Nelly Korda, Brittany Lincicome, So Yeon Ryu contend on final day

Nelly Korda watched CME Group Tour Championship winner Lexi Thompson up close Sunday afternoon and noticed from the get-go she was playing with the eventual winner.

“You know, I played pretty solid and made just a couple of mistakes, but I mean, Lexi played really well, so ...,” Korda said. “She didn’t leave a lot of openings and she made just two mistakes, I think, but bounced back really fast."

Thompson ended up winning by four shots at 18 under par, and early on the final nine Korda came within two shots after a birdie at No. 12. But Korda bogeyed No. 13 and Thompson birdied to go up by four.

“I was just thinking take it shot by shot, then I made a really bad mistake after that birdie, and she just kind of ran away with it after that,” she said. “Yeah, that was it.”

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Korda has watched Thompson while playing together and remains impressed.

“I think how powerful she is and her green in regulation because of that are so high," Korda said. "Sometimes when you look at long players you can see some inconsistencies but Lexi is pretty solid all around.

“I’m really satisfied with the year, getting the first win under the belt. Now it's offseason and I get to relax a bit.”

Brittany Lincicome tied So Yeon Ryu for third following a final-round 67, ending and up-and-down week and sending her immediate thoughts to fishing with her husband.

“I had it going at the start and then lost it terribly through the middle and then pulled it together nicely at the end,” Lincicome said. “Today’s round was like my week, Thursday in the first round I was thinking 59 in the back of my mind then Saturday I was playing well and then totally – I better watch for inappropriate words – fell apart.”

Lincicome stood on the 15th tee Friday with a four-stroke lead, but double-bogeyed that hole, then bogeyed Nos. 17 and 18 to fall behind Thompson. She had recovered Saturday and was at 2 under for the day with 10 holes to play, but had four bogeys and a birdie the rest of the way to fall back.

“I had no idea where I stood today because I don’t like to look at scoreboards because it stresses me out," she said. "I’ve talked to top players and they’re like you have to look at the leaderboard.

“Then my putting has been horrendous the last two days and my husband was yelling at me (Saturday) night to pick a spot, then hit it, you know. He said just think about the speed you want, the angle and where you want it go to in the hole.”

Ryu broke her string of three straight 69s with a bogey-free 4-under 68.

"I really comfortable hitting every single shot from the tee to the green," said Ryu, who said she did not follow up her Friday night wine with any Saturday night. "I'm so glad to finish my season with a bogey-free round. That's the best way to finish the season for sure."

Lincicome did make a bit of a switch that seemed to work Sunday.

“I normally putt cross-handed when I’m under pressure and feel like my stroke is not good and today I did more conventional, only doing the cross-handed inside three feet, which is weird," she said.