The PGA Tour has the season-long FedEx Cup and the European Tour has its Race to Dubai, now the LPGA Tour has the Race to the CME Globe.
LPGA Tour Commissioner, Michael Whan continues to improve the women’s game with this new announcement. The LPGA Tour hit a low of only 23 sanctioned events for the women’s tour in 2011, but just a scant three years later it has now grown to 32 tournaments for 2014.
“CME Group has made quite an impact on the LPGA Tour during our three years together,” said LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan. “The addition of this concept fundamentally connects every event on our Tour and promises big things in 2014 and beyond. The stakes have risen dramatically and the excitement level goes up for our players and each of our tournaments.”
The Race to the CME Globe will award points at every one of the 32 LPGA Tour stops in 2014. It will begin with the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic on January 23-26 and culminate with a $1 million check being awarded to the highest point earner at the season-ending CME Tour Championship in November.
In 2013 Inbee Park was the leading money winner on the LPGA Tour with $2.4 million in total earnings. In 2014 the winner of the CME Group Tour Championship will earn $500,000 and the Race to the CME Group will win an additional $1 million.
If one player could collect both checks it would be a $1.5 million payday. That is huge in women’s professional sports.
The players on the LPGA Tour will now not only be vying for the first-place check each week, they will also be trying to accumulate valuable CME Globe points.
All tournaments will have the same point values in the Race to the CME Globe except for the five major championships, which will carry 25 percent more value.
The winner of all official LPGA events leading up to the CME Group Tour Championship will earn 500 points and the winner of each major championship will earn 625 points.
Only LPGA Tour members are eligible to earn points in the Race to the CME Globe. Points will be awarded to LPGA members who make the cut every week.
For events without a cut, except for the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, points will be awarded to members who finish among the top 40 and ties. The Lorena Ochoa Invitational will award points to members who finish in the top 20 and ties.
The field at the $2 million CME Group Tour Championship will consist of the top 72 players on the Race to the CME Globe Points Standings at the conclusion of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, any LPGA member with at least one official LPGA win during the season and any non-member with at least one official LPGA win during the year.
This will be a huge boost for the ladies of the LPGA Tour and is just one more example of the growth seen in the women’s game over the past three years.
(All quotes and information taken from LPGA Tour press release of the Race to the CME Globe.)