Yuri Yoshida became the fourth player from Japan to win this season when she held off a strong contingent of South Korean players at the BMW Ladies Championship.
The 26-year-old became the fourth first-time winner on the LPGA this season and the second from Japan, joining compatriot Yuna Nishimura. Yoshida won $352,500 for her one-stroke victory at Pine Beach Golf Links, bringing her career earnings to $1,591,573.
World No. 3, Haeran Ryu, lost a four-stroke lead on Sunday, closing with bogey to finish one stroke back alongside Hye-Jin Choi, who has yet to win on the LPGA. Choi also finished second last week in China.
Following her victory at the 2026 BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links, Japanese golfer Yuri Yoshida, moved up from No. 43 to No. 16 in the LPGA Race to CME Globe Rankings with 2,562.675 points.
Top 5 Race to the CME Globe Standings
- 1. Nelly Korda – 3,713.875 points
- 2. Jeeno Thitikul – 2,915.375 points
- 3. Miyu Yamashita – 2,683.626 points
- 4. Haeran Ryu – 2,470.358 points
- 5. Ruoning Yin – 2,453.993 points
The Race to the CME Globe is a season-long points competition where the top 60 LPGA Members compete for entry into the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. The player who wins the 2026 CME Group Tour Championship will be named the Race to the CME Globe Champion and receive $4 million, the largest single prize in the history of women’s golf. The runner-up will receive $1 million. The CME Group Tour Championship is held at the Tiburón Golf Club (Gold Course) in Naples, Florida, November 19 – 22.
There are five remaining tournaments on the LPGA schedule:
The Maybank Championship, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 29 – November 1; The TOTO Japan Classic, Omitama, Japan, November 5 – 8, and The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at the Pelican, Belleair, Florida, November 12 – 15, CME Group Tour Championship, in Naples, Florida, November 19 -22, and the Grant Thorton Invitational, in Naples, Florida, December 10-13.
The Grant Thornton Invitational is an official, co-sanctioned mixed-team event between the LPGA Tour and the PGA Tour, marking the first time the two tours combined for an official annual mixed-team event since 1999.
Austin Smotherman won the shortened 54-hole 2026 Butterfield Bermuda Championship by defeating Séamus Power with a par-3 on the third playoff hole (No. 16). He earned $1.08 million for the win.
Smotherman captured his second consecutive PGA Tour victory after winning the Bank of Utah Championship.
On a local level…
The Tampa Bay area is coming off five consecutive days of rain. Dry weather is in the forecast for the next several weeks. Most public and private courses work daily to help greens roll well but may reduce the plant’s ability to receive sunlight. Lower mowing, verticutting and rolling reduce leaf size which reduces the plants’ ability to collect sunlight.
In central Florida, green complexes need to get great sunlight in September, October, and November to store as much energy as possible in the roots and shoots to make it through the winter in good shape.
A lack of sunlight in this weather pattern causes the leaf blades to reach upward for sun and not lay down flat. This opens the canopy and the turf can start to thin out. To help leaf blades survive, most turf managers raise mowing heights and reduce verticutting and rolling the greens. Unfortunately, this results in slower, less smooth ball roll—slower greens. Environmental stress, poor management, or weather extremes may result in fungus on golf greens- often specific fungal pathogens thrive when turfgrass is weakened.
This is certainly a challenge for green Superintendents in Pinnellas County. An extreme example is the 11th hole par- 3 at Dunedin Golf Club in Dunedin, Florida.
All this is to say, be patient. Your Tampa Bay area golf courses are working through extreme weather conditions and are taking steps to manage the situation on the greens.
Enjoy the cooler weather, keep smiling, and enjoy your golf.
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