2014 Race to the CME Globe Recap The inaugural Race to the CME Globe, the LPGA’s first season-long points race, headed to the final round at the CME Group Tour Championship with everything still very much in doubt. Over the first nine holes, the projected No. 1 waffled back and forth between Stacy Lewis, Michelle Wie and Lydia Ko. It’s exactly as the Race was intended to be, settled on the final Sunday of the year. When each of the three golfers entered the scorer’s tent, the youngest player on Tour – 17-year-old phenom Ko – was the player who emerged victorious. A prize of $1 million heading to the girl that still receives an allowance for birdies from her mother. The largest payday in women’s golf to the girl that said she’d celebrate it by buying her mother the purse she had been eying. However, Ko still had work to do after the $1 million was locked up. She had to head to a playoff for the CME Group Tour Championship trophy and an additional $500,000 payday. Four straight times she went down the 18th hole. Four straight times she made par, watching as Julieta Granada first dropped out of the playoff with a bogey and then finally Carlota Ciganda. The $1.5 million prize was the largest payday in women’s golf history and a spectacular conclusion to the 2014 season. Ko ranked third in the points when they were reset heading into the CME Group Tour Championship. However, as one of the members of the top three, she controlled her own destiny and a bogey-free 4-under 68 on Sunday did the trick. Stacy Lewis entered the final tournament of the year ranked first in the points race but was leapfrogged by Ko after finishing in a tie for ninth for the week. Lewis took second and the $150,000 check. For a while during the final round, it looked like Wie might take home the trophy. She was two under through six holes and charging up the leaderboard. Bogeys on Nos. 7 and 9 ultimately derailed her shot, though, and she took third in the inaugural Race to the CME Globe by finishing in a tie for fifth to close the season. The only question now is: how does the second edition possibly top the first? 2014 Race to the CME Globe Final Point Standings (players ranked in the top 10) Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Player Lydia Ko Stacy Lewis Michelle Wie Inbee Park So Yeon Ryu Points 7500 5650 5100 4870 4200 Rank 6 7 8 9 10 Player Shanshan Feng Julieta Granada Carlota Ciganda Chella Choi Anna Nordqvist Points 3290 2940 2450 2410 2400