March 28, 2017: This week’s ANA Inspiration will mark the seventh event in the season-long Race to CME Globe. With four finishes inside the top-8, including two runner-ups, Ariya Jutanugarn is the early leader in the Race to CME Globe with 949 points.
In 2017, the reset points for the Race to the CME Globe will be modified slightly. As a result of these modifications:
- The top five finishers entering Naples will control their own destiny at the CME Group Tour Championship – – meaning if they win in Naples, they will also win the $1M CME Globe.
- The top 12 finishers entering Naples will have a mathematical chance to win the $1M CME Globe.
- Please note that previously, the top three controlled their destiny and top nine had a mathematical chance
REMEMBERING A MISSION HILLS LEGEND
Beloved Mission Hills Director of Golf Course Operations Dave Johnson passed away earlier this year, just five weeks before the ANA Inspiration and a few days before his 29th anniversary at the Rancho Mirage course.
From 1984-1988, he was the assistant superintendent at The Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, which hosted the 1986 PGA Championship. Starting in 1988, Johnson had overseen operations of the ANA Inspiration and witnessed every jump into Poppie’s Pond.
Players and caddies will don black ribbons to honor Johnson’s memory beginning in the first round.
Larry Bohannan with the Desert Sun wrote a touching piece after Johnson’s passing in February: http://desert.sn/2mfoEMr
2017 LPGA TOUR SEASON BY THE NUMBERS
| 2017 | 2014 | 2011 | |
| # of Events | 35 | 33 | 25 |
| # of Official Events | 34 | 32 | 23 |
| Official Money Purses | $67.35M | $57.55M | $41.5M |
| Official Events at $2 million | 16 | 13 | 8 |
| Events in N. America | 22 | 22 | 15 |
| Events outside N. America | 13 | 11 | 10 |
2016 MAJORS RECAP
| Major | Champion | Score |
| ANA Inspiration | Lydia Ko | 70 – 68 – 69 – 69 = 276 (-12) |
| KPMG Women’s PGA Championship | Brooke Henderson | 67 – 73 – 73 – 65 = 278 (-6) |
| U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA | Brittany Lang | 68 – 75 – 68 – 71 = 282 (-6) |
| RICOH Women’s British Open | Ariya Jutanugarn | 65 – 69 – 66 – 72 = 272 (-16) |
| The Evian Championship | In Gee Chun | 63 – 66 – 65 – 69 = 263 (-21)* |
* Major championship scoring record – male or female
LPGA Tour Release
