CME Group Tour Championship Preview & Fantasy Picks

The LPGA season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship, is our last opportunity to play fantasy golf this year, but there’s more at stake than the usual hardware. Who will win this year’s million dollar Race to the CME Globe? Will it be Lydia Ko for a 3rd year or will Ariya Jutanugarn hold on to her slender 126 point lead and end Ko’s dominance? Could Brooke Henderson prove the spoiler with a final 2016 win? Is there a dark horse or two in the race?

There are other end-of-season awards also waiting to be claimed. While In Gee Chun has a lock on Rookie of the year, who will secure the Tour’s Rolex Player of the Year? The Vare Tropnhy?

Let’s take a look at the field that’s getting ready to tee it up at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. Lydia Ko, Ariya Jutanugarn, and In Gee Chun lead 21 of the top 25-ranked players to the tee, but 3-time winner Ha Na Jang and 2-time winners Haru Nomura, Sei Young Kim, Minjee Lee, Brooke Henderson, Shanshan Feng, and Carlota Ciganda are more than ready to challenge the big three.

LPGA Fantasy Golf

I’m looking for Ariya Jutanugarn to have the edge at Tiburon, but I’m also expecting a strong challenge from 5th ranked Lexi Thompson. I put both of them on my LPGA fantasy team. It was expensive because their 20 coin salaries ate up a good chunk of my budget, but I feet strongly enough about Thompson to make some adjustments further down the field.

Thompson’s coming in rested – she sat out the Lorena Ochoa Invitational – and knows the Tiburon track quite well. She finished 4th at the 2015 Championship and could very well prove to be the horse for this course.

I also put Carlota Cignada, Brittany Lincicome, Angela Stanford, and Megan Khang on my LPGA fantasy team. Ciganda donned the sombrero last week so she’s coming in hot but Stanford almost caught her and has a well-tuned game. They’ll both make solid additions to my fantasy team.

Lincicome is a gamble. She really hasn’t had much of a season but she’s a streaky player and if she decides that she wants to win there’s a very good chance she could do it.

Megan Khang is just plain impressive. The rookie hasn’t missed a cut is her last 7 starts. I’m looking for a solid finish from her.

Further down the field, in the 5 coin salary range, I picked Sarah Jane Smith, Mariajo Uribe, Sakura Yokomine, and Ai Miyazato for my LPGA fantasy team. Smith, like Stanford, delivered a superb game in Mexico City. She’s trending in the right direction. I know Uribe is a somewhat weak pick but I was impressed with the strength of her game last week in Mexico City and sense she’ll finish her season on a high point. I’ve had both Yokomine and Miyazato on my radar since the UL International Crown. This is my last opportunity this season to give them a chance.

Ladies Dream Golf Pick-4

My Ladies Dream Golf Pick-4 team looks slightly different from my LPGA fantasy team. I’ve picked Ariya Jutanugarn, who remains my pick to win the CME Group Tour Championship and the Race to the CME Globe this year.

From Group 2 I picked Ha Na Jang, who’s coming to the tee with 4 wins and a strong playing record, from Group 3, Brittany Lincicome, for the reasons I’ve already explained, and from Group 4, another of the runners-up at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Austin Ernst.

We’ll be able to enjoy full coverage of all four rounds of the CME Group Tour Championship. Golf Channel will broadcast 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round play from 4:30-6:30pm ET Thursday, November 17, Friday, November 18, and Saturday, November 19 and ABC will pick up coverage for the final round on Sunday, November 20, 1-4pm ET.

Cover Photo via Instagram