The LPGA Tour’s $2 million-to-the-winner season finale came down to a two-woman battle on a blustery, chilly Naples afternoon and it was Lydia Ko who walked off with all that cash and a lot of hardware at the CME Tour Championship.
Ko found herself locked in a head-to-head battle with Ireland’s Leona Maguire at Tiburon with conditions looking more like this time of year in Scotland. It was an experience mismatch — 18 wins for Ko, one for Maguire. But Maguire gave Ko a battle — that $2 million didn’t come easy.
Birdies were difficult to come by with winds whipping consistently around 20 miles per hour, gusting higher. Ko held a slim one-shot lead at the turn and Maguire stayed on her heels. At the par five 14th, both players made mistakes with their second shots. Both found the penalty area right of the fairway. Ko two-putted for bogey, Maguire got up-and-down from 88 yards for hers.
At the par three 16th, Ko asserted herself with a tee shot that never left the pin and stopped just 10 feet away. She’d make that birdie putt to get to 16-under then upped her lead to two shots with a birdie at the par five 17th, the hole playing the easiest of the 18. From there, Ko was money. She shot 70 to finish 17-under, two clear of Leona. A final round 67 gave Anna Nordqvist solo third at 14-under par.
Ko won the championship and scored her 19th LPGA Tour victory. In the process, she collected the $2 million, the largest prize in women’s golf. She also walked away with Player Of The Year honors and won the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average.
Ko wasn’t thinking about the money. “It’s more the excitement of winning the championship than the prize money for me,” she said, which spoke to her champion’s mindset.
She is now also within two points of the total needed for the LPGA’s Hall of Fame.
“If I could ever go in the Hall of Fame, it would be really cool, especially with so many of the big names and the legends that are in the Hall of Fame,” Ko said when reminded how close she is to the point total.
“I’m sure that’s going to be all the questions that everybody here is going to ask me next year as well, like, you know, you’re so close, or how is it going to be, what’s your approach? But, you know, like my mindset going into this week, even though there’s a lot of things on the line and these opportunities don’t come very often, I just try to focus on my game. I know that if I play good golf and keep putting myself in contention, all of those other things are going to follow.”
Again, a champion’s mindset.
“So, I don’t think I’m going to think too much about the Hall of Fame,” Ko predicted. “If it happens, that’s great, and it will be a huge honor, but it’s definitely not the biggest thing as a goal for next year.”
As for the $2 million she won, it gave her a season total to $4,364,403. She now has $16,695,357 in career earnings. The season mark left her $591 shy of Lorena Ochoa’s record, set in 2007. In relation to career money, Ko is now fifth all-time, with Annika Sorenstam leading the way with $22,583,693.
CME Tour Championship Scoreboard:
Federal Judge Throws Out Patrick Reed’s Ridiculous Lawsuit:
Seems U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan was of the same mindset with everyone else who thought Patrick Reed’s $750 million slander suit was simply ridiculous.
Judge Corrigan threw out Reed’s complaint against Brandel Chamblee, the Golf Channel, Shane Bacon, Damon Hack, Eamon Lynch and basically every other talking golf head in the world.
Judge Corrigan stated that Reed’s complaint, “failed to give Defendants notice of the grounds upon which each claim rests because Reed alleges 120 factual allegations, then proceeds to incorporate all 120 allegations into each and every count. Reed attempts to allege various defamation and civil conspiracy violations against each Defendant; causes of action which require vastly different factual allegations.”
Last August, Reed had his sleazy lawyer file a $750 million, 30-page complaint against what seemed like everyone who is anyone in the world of golf, including PGA Tour commish Jay Monahan and DP World boss Keith Pelley, claiming there are: “co-conspirators for their anticompetitive conduct and anticompetitive practices, in order to destroy the upstart LIV Golf Tour, Mr Reed, and fellow LIV Golf Players in order to annihilate any competition with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.”
Reed’s lawsuit also accused the defendants of having: “defamed, falsely injured and tortiously interfered with this world-class golfer and his professional endeavors, by falsely and maliciously branding him a cheater, liar, a thief, a murderer and someone who accepts blood money from terrorists.”
No doubt Reed will waste more of his fat LIV dollars on re-filing the complaint as the judge has allowed Reed to file an amended complaint by December 16. Judge Corrigan instructed: “In drafting the amended complaint, Reed is instructed to re-evaluate his alleged claims and bring only those claims that are meritorious and supported by law.”
Note the magic words: “meritorious and supported by law.”
Seems the first lawsuit didn’t have those parameters.
