Amid Lexi Thompson’s Heartbreak, Here Are the Top 5 Players Who Won’t be at the CME Group Tour Championship

Published 11/13/2023, 4:30 AM EST

The play at ANNIKA saw some flattering and ferocious competition. Yes, some charm cards were pulled by the golfers on the greens, and the game ended on an ecstatically high note with Lilia Vu raking the trophy. Moreover, what remained was the aftereffect of those charms aka, the leaderboard scores and some heartbreaks.

Many players made it to the top of the scorecard but failed to keep it pristine for the CME Championship. Here’s a list of the top 5 players who won’t be seen in Naples.

Top 5 LPGA stars who have a lot at stake

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Some players like Lexi Thompson already had a lot on their plates this season. After her health-related concerns and performance on the last few tourneys, there were hopes that she could perhaps make it. But, fate most of the time for golfers, works in unusual ways. The ones at the dote point this time were a few along with Thompson, who sits on the 79th CME points position.

Solheim Cup’s European hole-in-one star Emily Kristine Pedersen won’t be seen at Naples. The player could have made it to the CME Group Tour Championship if she had made a par on Sunday on her 18th hole. But because she couldn’t, her season journey ended there. Currently, her CME points rank is 70.

Other than her, In Gee Chun also will not be present. The contrast between the performances of 2022 and 2023 In Gee Chun is pretty evidently harsh and extreme. The player added the third major feather to her golfing hat last season, and this time around, she has only had 1 top-10 finish among all the events she participated in. Her CME points position is 75, so she’s not on the roster for the LPGA Tour’s end event.

Maria Fassi has played well this season, irrespective of missing a lot of cuts and having some top-10 finishes. The player is at No. 76 on the CME leaderboard and so, a missed chance. Lydia Ko is sailing in the same boat. The 26-year-old LPGA star was planning on saying goodbye to golf at the age of, perhaps 30, but now, seeing the state of her game currently, it appears that she might cut her pro time short. The player sits at the 100th position on the CME points board and clearly won’t be participating and defending her last year’s winner title at the event anymore.

Where performance at the ANNIKA event was a deal breaker for some players, others already had the sword of an unfruitful year handing around their necks. Nonetheless, here’s a quick recap of what happened at the Floridan grounds.

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A quick reflection on the 2023 Annika Event

The 2023 Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, ended with Lilia Vu taking the trophy and the title. Her win was all glamor as she bagged herself a three-stroke win over Alison Lee and Azahara Munoz. One standout from her game was that she really played exceptionally well throughout the LPGA Tour event and posted her rounds of 67, 66, 62, and 66. Her end total score was 261.

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Nelly Korda, who aimed her three-peat this time around wasn’t able to match the par. The player has had a rough season, and so she finished at T25. The 2023 edition of Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, marked the fourth edition of this event competition. Now that we are officially in the last leg of this season, what are your thoughts on the players and their play? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Maheen Sajjad is a golf writer at EssentiallySports. Having blazed through the ranks of the ES recruitment drive, Maheen has turned heads with her journalistic endeavor, which put her on the pedestal as an Editor for her college newsletter. Her journey into the world of golf began in the cozy confines of her home, where she watched her grandfather's weekend golf games.

Edited by:

Brandon Gabriel

Amid Lexi Thompson’s Heartbreak, Here Are the Top 5 Players Who Won’t be at the CME Group Tour Championship

Top 5 LPGA stars who have a lot at stake

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A quick reflection on the 2023 Annika Event