It’s a good day to have a good day.
The philosophy is embroidered into the side of 54-hole CME Group Tour Championship co-leader Angel Yin’s golf bag, turned towards the fans cheering her on as her caddie Michelle Simpson walks around Tiburon Golf Club. Yin’s third-round five-under 67 has her tied with Jeeno Thitikul, who carded a tournament-low 63 to match her at 15-under par, setting up Sunday to be a lucrative day. A record-setting $4 million first-place prize awaits the winner of the CME.
“I think the fan support is awesome,” Yin said. “Because of them, this is where I’m at right now. 100 percent.”
The co-leaders have already collected $1 million paychecks at Tiburon Golf Club. Each of them won the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, the season-long award handed out ahead of the Tour Championship. Yin won last year, while Thitikul collected her paycheck this Wednesday.
“$1 million is really good enough for me,” Thitikul said. “If I can get more, it’s definitely going to be a nice, because as my team know I spend a lot of money.”
Thitikul has been bogey-free since a double on the 11th Thursday, where she stood at two-over par for the tournament. She closed with three straight birdies for an opening 71, shaking off the cobwebs of not playing in a month since her runner-up in the Maybank Championship, where Thitikul explained she hasn’t had much time to practice due to sponsorship obligations. She closed her nine-under Saturday with a 30 on the back nine, including her eagle on the par-5 17th that caught Yin at 14 under.
Her steady-handed performance was something in doubt for Thitikul since the start of the year following a left thumb injury she suffered in the offseason.
“Every interview that I have, I have my doubt, tell myself that if I recovery am I going to be able to play the same golf that I did like last couple year or not,” Thitikul said.
Thitikul’s results have belied any performance issues in recovery, having earned 11 top-10s over 16 starts, including six in a row before her month-long break heading into the Tour Championship.
If Thitikul feels any pressure about a potential $5 million week, it’s hiding underneath her joking nature. She quipped that her 63 was in tribute to her caddie Banpot Bunpisansaree, who turned 36 on Saturday. When asked about the possibility of winning, the 22-year-old was thankful her mom wasn’t there to witness some bad spending decisions she’d make with another $4 million added to her bank.
As smooth sailing as Thitikul’s last two rounds have been, Yin has scrambled her way to the top of the leaderboard. She conferred with rules officials both Friday and Saturday, having a meeting to review footage of a potentially improper drop after her second round, then discussing with officials that she accidentally tapped her ball in the fairway at address during the par-5 14th. She saved par off erratic tee shots on Nos. 10 and 13, hitting off the crushed coquina shell sand that lines the cart paths on the left side of the 13th.
The scrambling is much like Yin’s season, which took a late push to get into the CME. Her year started in Las Vegas in April after she broke her ankle during the offseason. After only making three cuts in nine starts, a round with mentor Juli Inkster reaffirmed to Yin the need to trust herself. The 26-year-old recovered with five top 10s over her next eight starts, getting her to No. 47 and inside the top-60 cutoff for the Tour Championship.
The inconsistent round was salvaged with another stellar putting performance, leaving Saturday with 27 putts, her average for the week and 2.5 better than her career average. Another hot day with the flat stick could carry her to her second career victory. Yin brought on Simpson as her looper, partly because Simpson pitched her a few weeks ago over text that she really liked Tiburon’s greens.
“That kind of lingered in my brain a little bit ever since she texted me that,” Yin said.
The caddie switch-up and improved putting puts Yin in a position to beat her surprisingly low career-best finish of T-47 in the Tour Championship over six appearances in Tiburon.
Ruoning Yin sits three back at 12-under after a clean six-under 66 Saturday. While the World No. 3 rattled off how impressed she was by Thitikul’s performance, saying her friend’s stats during her post-round press conference, Yin might be in the best form on tour since the start of the fall Southeast Asian swing. The four-time winner won half of her career victories over her past four starts in the Buick LPGA Shanghai and Maybank Championship in October.
“I mean, a W to finish the season obviously couldn’t be better, right?” Yin proposed.
Charley Hull and Na Rin An are lurking, trailing by four at 11-under. Both have posted low rounds this week, as An led after 18 holes with a 64. Hull sputtered with an opening one-over 73 before a pair of 66s got the 2016 Tour Championship winner back in contention.
“Obviously it’s a very nice paycheck thanks to Terry Duffy,” Hull said. “You just go out there and play golf and you want to try and get the win. The money is like a bonus.”
Nelly Korda’s hopes for an eighth victory this season will require something historic. In her seven victories in 2024, she hasn’t been more than two behind going into the final round. However, it doesn’t take a win for Korda to add a possible cherry of history on top of her record-making season. The World No. 1 is $200,565 shy of breaking the tour’s current all-time earnings mark, held by Lorena Ochoa’s $4,364,994 in 2007, needing a three-way T-5 or better to top the record.
Ochoa’s earnings record was virtually guaranteed to fall ever since CEO and Chairman of CME Group Terry Duffy announced the new first-place prize last November. Anyone ahead of Korda who wins the CME will beat Ochoa’s record with the $4 million to their year-long earnings, making Sunday a good day to have a historically good day.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
