LPGA puts it all on the line
Shanshan Feng could think of no better way to celebrate.
Her second straight victory before a home crowd in China at the Blue Bay LPGA meant she was projected to rise to No. 1 in the world for the first time. She had to wait for it to become official, and she had a plane to catch.
The news arrived as she was in a Dallas airport waiting for her connecting flight to Florida.
“I was really, really excited,” Feng said Wednesday. “I was by myself at the Dallas airport, and I went into Friday’s, and I ordered a steak for myself. I mean, I was trying to celebrate a little bit with a steak. I took a picture of it and sent it to my dad and mom. I was like, ‘I’m here celebrating.’ ”
More than just the No. 1 ranking is on the line this week at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. The LPGA Tour finale is so compelling that it could offer something to everyone or everything to one player. Feng is among five players who only have to win the tournament to capture the $1 million bonus for the Race to the CME Globe. She is among four players still in the running for LPGA player of the year.
The drama begins Thursday
at Tiburon Golf Club and concludes with what could be the most dynamic conclusion to an LPGA season.
Lexi Thompson, Sung Hyun Park, Feng, So Yeon Ryu and Brooke Henderson only have to win the tournament to claim the $1 million bonus. All but Henderson have to win the Tour Championship to be awarded LPGA Tour player of the year.
SNEDEKER RETURNS FROM INJURY >> The final tournament of the calendar year on the PGA Tour feels like a fresh start for Brandt Snedeker. The biggest question is how long that feeling will last. Snedeker returns this week at the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Georgia, from a peculiar injury to his sternum that doctors typically see only from contact sports. The injury was to a joint between the upper and lower sternum, and the pain at times was so great that Snedeker had trouble breathing after hitting shots. Snedeker abruptly withdrew because of the pain in July when he was warming up for the opening round of the British Open.
The RSM Classic will be his first competition in about five months. Snedeker said he played 25 holes for three straight days at home in a cart and felt no issues. FLEETWOOD TRYING TO HOLD OFF ROSE >> Englishman Tommy Fleetwood must withstand a strong challenge from Justin Rose to secure a first Race to Dubai title. After this week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, the 48th and final event on the European Tour, one of three players will be the Race to Dubai champion. Masters champion Sergio Garcia of Spain is the only other in a field of 60 with a chance to secure the European No. 1 crown. In 2007 Rose secured the Order of Merit in style by winning the season-ending championship in Spain. Fleetwood, who has a lead of a lead of 256,737 points, will be hoping Rose does not maintain the form that his seen his countryman winning back-to-back titles at the WGC-HSBC Champions title in Shanghai and the Turkish Airlines Open. Fleetwood needs to equal or better Rose’s finish to claim the title.