CME Group Tour Championship: Angel Yin Holds The Lead After Two Rounds

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After the conclusion of the DP World Tour and the regular season on the PGA Tour, this week it is the turn of the women as the 60 best players in the season long CME rankings have gathered for the CME Group Tour Championship. 

One of the most lucrative tournaments on the LPGA Tour, the best female players in the game will be battling it out for the $11 million first place prize, where the winner will take home $4 million. 

Through the first two rounds there is a surprise leader with world number 34 Angel Yin leading the way two strokes on ten under. 

With plenty on the line this weekend it will be fascinating to see how Yin handles the pressure with some of the very best players in the female game trying to chase her down. 

Here are some of the main talking points from the first two days of action. 

Angel Yin a surprise leader at halfway stage of CME Group Tour Championship 

Angel Yin headed into this week as a player flying firmly under the radar but she has reminded the golfing world of just what a good player she is by streaking into a two shot lead at the halfway point of the CME Group Tour Championship. 

Qualifying for the week at 47 in the race to make the tournament, Yin looked to be revelling in her role of the underdog and leapt to the top few places of the leaderboard with a brilliant opening round 65.

Whilst her second round didn’t quite reach the same heights, she kept up the pressure on her rivals with a more than respectable round of 69. With three birdies in her final eight holes, Yin ended her second round on -10, two clear of her nearest challengers.

Now 26, this is Yin’s seventh year on Tour and through that period she has only managed one solitary victory and has amassed $5 million in prize money. She has the opportunity to almost double that total in terms of wins and money and it will be fascinating to see how she handles both the pressure and occasion over the next 36 holes.

Angel Yin


After seven LPGA wins, Nelly Korda is aiming to win her biggest title of the year 

At the top of the CME standings Nelly Korda stood alone. The clear and undisputed best player on the planet, Korda was able to win a remarkable seven titles on the LPGA Tour this season but saw both the Olympics and five major championships slide by. 

After having seven weeks off to rest a troublesome wrist injury, Korda showed no signs of rust as she overhauled Charley Hull to win last week’s Annika and there were huge expectations that Korda would carry over that winning form into this week.

Perhaps feeling the effects of her comeback effort last week, Korda had to settle for a disappointing level par round to kick off her week, but with that 18 holes behind her, she showed exactly why she was the heavy favourite heading into this week with a fantastic second round 66.

In complete control of her ball, Korda eliminated the silly mistakes that plagued her opening round and was able to keep her second round scorecard clean. 

Looking for a spark, it arrived on her third hole of the day when she holed out from the fairway to give her an unlikely eagle. Firing her score to -2, the momentum wouldn’t stop and two more birdies would follow, ensuring that the world number one would make the turn at -4.

With Korda building in confidence, she would post two more birdies on her back nine to post a superb six under round. 

Finding herself at -6, she is just four strokes off the front and will be hopeful of closing the gap to those at the top of the leaderboard even further today. 

South Korean duo will start as Yin’s nearest challengers 

Starting as Angel Yin’s nearest challenger today will be the South Korean pair of An-Na Rin and Choi Hye-jin.

Ranked 76th in the world coming into this week, An-Na Rin was able to pick the course apart in her opening round and after posting a stunning round of 64, she was the surprise leader after the first eighteen holes. 

Twice a winner from the proving ground of the LPGA Korean Tour, Rin is by no means a slouch and she is looking to win the biggest title of her career. Perhaps starting to feel the effects of leading one of the biggest tournaments of the year, an even par second round 72 has seen her fall two strokes behind and it will be interesting to see how she bounces back today. 

Choi Hye-jin has been one of the most consistent players of the week and has so far been able to post two rounds of 68. Having just posted one bogey all week, she is hitting the ball fantastically well and the world number 45 may be Yin’s nearest challenger by the end of today’s third round. 

South Korean


Plenty of other big names find themselves in the mix

With so much on the line this week, the tournament lead is bound to chop and change and anyone within five strokes off the lead will feel they have a real shot of winning. 

Charley Hull is one of those women and the Brit will feel she can reduce the gap to those at the top. Ranked eleven in the world, Hull was a winner down in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago and she almost repeated the feat last week before eventually being chased down by Nelly Korda. One of the form women on the LPGA Tour she could make her move today. 

Jennifer Kupcho is as consistent as they come and although she doesn’t blow people away with a blitz of birdies, her consistent ball-striking is often enough to see her in the final shakeup and she will be hoping to record the five shot deficit even further today. 

Celine Boutier is twice a major winner and is Europe’s highest ranked player in the world standings. Although 2024 hasn’t been her strongest, she is just six off the pace and has shown on countless occasions that she has the class to contend and compete.  

Many won’t be believing that Boutier has a chance to win this week, but count her out at your peril.