This past weekend saw the last event of the 2017 season on the LPGA Tour take place with the CME Group Tour Championship. It was also the culmination of the tour's season-long CME Race to the Globe event, which would see the winner be rewarded with a hefty $1 million bonus. With several players having a shot at winning this coveted title, along with several other key end of the year awards that were up in the air, it made for a tense and dynamic Sunday finish.

Jutanugarn squeaks out the season's final victory

Going into the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club there was a four-way lead at the top of the leaderboard.

Ariya Jutanugarn, Michelle Wie, Kim Kaufman, and Suzann Pettersen were all tied at 10-under-par through 54 holes. However, Austin Ernst, Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda, Sung-Hyun Park, and Stacy Lewis were all only one shot behind. In fact, the field was very wide open as 31 players were within four shots of the lead going into Sunday.

Going into the final hole Thompson had a one-shot lead over Korda at 15-under-par. Korda had a 25-foot birdie attempt that she left short, having to settle for par. Meanwhile, Thompson hit her 50-foot birdie attempt almost perfectly, as it ended up two-feet left of the cup. However, she then jabbed at the short putt and missed it, leaving her in a tie for first with Korda at 14-under.

While all this was going on Jutanugarm was at 13-under and had just hit her second shot into the bunker.

She then proceeded to blast it out to set up an 18-foot birdie putt, which she made to put her in a three-way tie for first. On the 18th, she landed her approach shot 18 feet above the hole to set up for birdie. Jutanugarm then sank that long birdie to win the tournament.

Thompson captures CME after challenging season

With Lexi Thompson losing the tournament she missed out on winning the points-based Player of the Year award and finishing the season No.1 in the Rolex World Rankings.

Player of the Year ended up being a tie between Ryu So-Yeon and Park Sung-Hyun, the first time that has ever happened. Sung-Hyun also took home Rookie of the Year and was the top money winner on tour this season.

However, Thompson still won the season-long CME Race to the Globe, the $1 million bonus, and the Vare Trophy for having the year's lowest adjusted scoring average.

This season has been one of extreme highs and lows for Thompson. She won twice this season but also finished in second place six times this year. This included losing three times in a playoff, including at the year's first major, the ANA Inspiration, where she was also handed a controversial four-stroke penalty.

She was part of the U.S team that won the Solheim Cup this year.

There she went from being four down through nine holes in a singles match against Anna Nordqvist to taking a one-shot lead into the final hole before they ended up halving the match. Off of the course, it was also a difficult season, as Thompson's mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer and her grandmother passed away.

Reflecting on her season after the event, Thompson told ESPN: “It's probably the most I've learned in any year. Probably just never give up. No matter what you're put through, you can always push through anything if you go through it with the right attitude and just keep pushing forward.”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED