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Lydia Ko misses season money record by $591; closes in on LPGA Hall of Fame

Lydia Ko cleaned up on Sunday in Naples, Florida.

She won the CME Group Tour Championship, captured Player of the Year honors and sealed another Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average.

Those three triumphs added 3 points to her LPGA Hall of Fame resume and vaulted her closer to the magic number.


Full-field scores from the CME Group Tour Championship


Ko now has 25 points, with 27 needed for inclusion. Here’s a look at how she reached that mark, with 1 point for a regular tour win, 2 points for a major victory, 1 point for a Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year, and 1 point for an Olympic gold medal.

  • Regular LPGA wins: 17 (17 points)
  • Major wins: 2 (4 points)
  • Rolex Player of the Year awards: 2 (2 points)
  • Vare Trophy awards: 2 (2 points)

“If I could ever go in the Hall of Fame, it would be really cool, especially with so many of the big names and the legends that are in the Hall of Fame,” Ko said Sunday evening. “I’m sure that’s going to be all the questions that everybody here is going to ask me next year as well, like, you know, you’re so close, or how is it going to be, what’s your approach? But, you know, like my mindset going into this week, even though there’s a lot of things on the line and these opportunities don’t come very often, I just try to focus on my game. I know that if I play good golf and keep putting myself in contention, all of those other things are going to follow.

“So, I don’t think I’m going to think too much about the Hall of Fame. If it happens, that’s great, and it will be a huge honor, but it’s definitely not the biggest thing as a goal for next year.”

The 25-year-old just wrapped up her ninth (yes, ninth) season on the LPGA. Her 19 career wins place her in a tie with Sandra Palmer for 29th on the tour’s all-time list.

As for money, the $2 million first-place prize boosted her season total to $4,364,403. She now has $16,695,357 in career earnings. The season mark left her $591 shy of Lorena Ochoa’s record, set in 2007. In relation to career money, Ko is now fifth all-time, with Annika Sorenstam leading the way with $22,583,693.