The CME Group Tour Championship, the final LPGA Tour event of the year takes place this week at the Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
Sportsbooks originally predicted Jin Young Ko to win this season-ending 2021 tournament, but World No. 1 Nelly Korda hopes to have them second-guessing those predictions.
Jin Young Ko loses CME Globe advantage
A total of 28 official LPGA Tour events are in the bag this year after a shortened 2020 season. Now, one final event remains, featuring afield of 59 of the LPGA’s most talented females.
One of those talented players will be crowned the new 2021 CME Globe Champion this weekend – a distinction players have been vying for all year. Only those who garnered enough points in the season-long Race to the CME Globe received an invitation to this exclusive championship.
22-year-old Jin Young Ko held the No. 1 Globe ranking going into the weekend, earning the top CME Championship betting odds at sportsbooks.
DraftKings Sportsbook positioned Ko with the best odds of a win going into the tournament, setting her at +450. Entering the second round, however, odds for the Korean have extended to a much longer +1200.
Now that the first day of competition is in the books, the field of top contenders has taken a significant shuffle.
Ko logged a score of 3-under par for the first day, dropping her into the middle of the pack in a tie for 25th position.
CME Championship odds shift to favor Nelly Korda
In the eyes of sportsbooks, World No. 1 Nelly Korda is giving Ko the most threatening run for the $5 million purse thus far.
BetMGM Sportsbook initially offered the longest odds on Korda as winner, giving her +600 odds of a top finish. After shooting 6-under par on the first day to tie for sixth, sportsbooks now give her the best odds of winning the tournament.
Korda sits in the lead with +430 odds of doing so.
DraftKings originally gave Sei Young Kim +1400 odds of a win, predicting a top five or top 10 finish to be more likely. But after her impressive seven-under finish in the first round, FanDuel Sportsbook now gives her the second-best chance of a victory with +500 odds.
Although Jeongeun Lee6 shot a round-leading 8-under par on the first day, sportsbooks haven’t been as quick to position her in the lead. FanDuel positions her behind Korda and Kim with +700 odds of a win, making her a valuable choice if she can hold onto the lead.
After tying for second place earlier this month at the Pelican Women’s Championship, 26 year-old Lexi Thompson is eager to log her first victory of the year this weekend. She carries CME ranking of 7 after finishing in the top 10 in six tournaments this season. Sportsbooks give her +1800 odds of a win after Round 1.
Defending champ Danielle Kang
One contender with promising odds is defending tournament champ Danielle Kang. She took home the Vare Trophy last year with a 70.082 scoring average across the season’s truncated 13-event schedule.
The previous year saw her tie for a third-place finish at the tournament. So far in 2021, she finished tied for 20th at this year’s Olympics and boasts fourth-best putting average on the LPGA Tour.
Won five LPGA Tour events. Nine of this year’s appearances have earned her top-ten finishes, and she was positioned No. 12 in the Race to the CME Globe.
FanDuel now situates her deep within the field with +12000 odds of a consecutive victory.
CME Championship betting
BetMGM and FanDuel currently only offer lines on the outright tournament winner.
DraftKings, on the other hand, offers a handful of betting options. Users can wager on the outright winner as well as on whether a player will place in the Top 5 or the Top 10.
In addition to that, bettors can also wager on the leader after each round. Tournament matchups allow bettors to wager on the better golfer out of a group of two.
LPGA fans can catch the first three rounds on the Golf Channel, switching over to NBC for the final day of play on Sunday, Nov. 21.
