Staff WriterThe CME Group Tour Championship didn’t so much begin as detonate, thanks to Somi Lee opening with an 8-under-par 64 that left Tiburón Golf Club blinking in disbelief.
If the field expected a settling-in day at the LPGA’s season finale, Lee made sure they were sorely mistaken. The early fireworks have set the tone for a week where the CME Group Tour Championship looks more like a sprint than a marathon.
Lee’s card was the sort of thing that gets framed, worshipped, and possibly investigated for witchcraft: seven birdies, one eagle, and a single bogey to remind us she’s human. She birdied in pairs—3 and 4, 8 and 9, 14 and 15—then added No. 11 for good measure. Her eagle at the par-5 17th was the only one recorded on that hole all day.
You can’t fake a round like that. She went 14-for-14 in fairways hit, 16-of-18 greens, and needed only 27 putts. It was one of just 15 perfect fairway-hitting performances, but hers was the only one that came with the sort of scoring carnage that turns a leaderboard upside down.
This 64 is the lowest round of her LPGA career, and just the second time she’s ever led after day one. The last time she held an R1 lead, she faded to T28 at the 2024 Mizuho Americas Open. Something tells you that’s not happening this week.
And her reason for the putting surge? As Lee admitted: “To be completely honest I just followed Lydia Ko’s putter grip because she’s a good player and I thought, why not follow a good player’s putter grip. It worked really well… She’s my forever hero.”
Behind her sits Allisen Corpuz, two shots back after a tidy 66 that would have led most weeks but today looks like the warm-up act. Corpuz made her own seven-birdie, one-bogey run—four in a row from 4 through 7, another on 10, and two late punches at 16 and 17.
She’s no stranger to Tiburón, and it showed. “This is year four out here for me… there is definitely a few putts that I’ve seen year after year. So just coming back and being a little more familiar with the course has helped a lot.”
Defending champion Jeeno Thitikul is lurking at 5-under, joined by Nasa Hataoka, Jin Hee Im, and others. Thitikul knows how to peak here—last year she pocketed the trophy and the Aon Risk Reward Challenge bonus for a cool $5 million week.
Her reset routine at home in Thailand? Pure joy. “I just playing with my dogs, have fun… chasing my younger sister… had a joke with my mom and dad.”
Hataoka, no-nonsense as ever, boiled her approach to Tiburón down to simple mechanics: “First of all, it’s wide fairway here… I have to hit right spot to make a chance.”
Im, also at 5-under, is still wrestling with fluctuating form—but happy to be climbing. “I do well at this season but I’m little greedy… I can keep going up.”
Lexi Thompson opened with a 70 and sits at -2, and with a lighter schedule this year, she’s leaning heavily on balance: “Sometimes that’s even more important than practice, is giving yourself that balance.”
About the Leader
Lee arrives at her first CME Group Tour Championship as Rolex World No. 50, backed by one win and seven top-10s this season. She made 21 cuts in 26 starts, won the Dow Championship alongside Jin Hee Im, and owns five KLPGA victories. Her LPGA membership came via a gritty T2 finish at the 2023 Q-Series.
Race to CME Globe Rank: 10
2025 Season Wins: 1
2025 Top-10s: 7
Career Money: $2,154,373 (and climbing fast)
The numbers say she belongs. Today’s round says she might be the one to beat.
If Lee keeps swinging like this, she may start threatening more than just the lead.
The CME Group Tour Championship is already shaping up as a shootout. One round in, the chase is fierce, the pins are begging for trouble, and the fairways might as well be runways.
And if Somi Lee keeps flying like this, everyone else will be trying to catch the jet stream.
