NAPLES, Fla. -- Sei Young Kim made a 12-foot eagle putt on the 17th hole to pull away from the pack with a 7-under 65 for a 2-shot lead Thursday after the opening round of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
At stake is the richest prize ever in women's golf, with $1.5 million going to the winner, regardless of her position in the Race to CME Globe standings.
Kim, already a two-time winner on the LPGA this year, was bogey-free on a pleasant, breezy day at Tiburon Golf Club.
Nelly Korda ran off three straight birdies on the front nine and really poured it on late, playing her final three holes in 4 under. That put Korda, at No. 3 the highest-ranked American in women's golf, at 67 with So Yeon Ryu and Georgia Hall.