Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect Lydia Ko's decision to re-commit to the Pelican Women's Championship.
Lydia Ko will have a chance to win the Vare Trophy after all.
After Golfweek first reported that Ko would skip the LPGA’s penultimate event, the Pelican Women’s Championship, in between starts in Saudi Arabia and the LPGA’s season finale in Florida, Ko’s agent told Golf Digest that Ko would be in the field for the Pelican, which will allow Ko to satisfy the minimum number of rounds to be eligible for the LPGA’s scoring title.
LPGA rules stipulate that a player must complete either 70 rounds or 70% of official tournaments rounds, whichever is fewer, to be eligible for the Vare Trophy. Ko is fourth in scoring average – behind three players who are ineligible: Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko and Inbee Park – and boasts a 69.615 mark in 65 rounds, just ahead of In Gee Chun’s 69.794 in 68 rounds.
The Vare Trophy also comes with a full point towards a player’s LPGA Hall of Fame eligibility. It takes 27 points to qualify; Ko currently has 19.
Ko is still slated to tee it up in the Nov. 4-7 Aramco Saudi Ladies International, the first of back-to-back events in Saudi Arabia. She will then play the final two events on the LPGA schedule, the Pelican on Nov. 11-14 in Belleair, Florida, and the CME Group Tour Championship on Nov. 18-21 in Naples, Florida.
The second Saudi Arabian event, the Aramco Team Series – Jeddah, is Nov. 10-12. It is the fourth and final team/individual tournament of a series, which has contested events in London, England, Sotogrande, Spain, and New York.
Several notable LPGA and LET players have competed in the Aramco series, including Charley Hull, who won the individual tournament in New York, and Jessica Korda, who was part of the victorious New York team. Major champions Georgia Hall and Anna Nordqvist are committed to the Jeddah event.
Last year’s Saudi Ladies International, won by Solheim Cup player Emily Kristine Pedersen, was the first women’s tournament contested in Saudi Arabia.
The events are backed by the Saudi government’s Private Invest Fund, which is the same group that is supporting LIV Golf Investments. The LIV company announced on Friday Greg Norman as its CEO, in what is believed to be the beginning of a Saudi-backed rival to the PGA Tour.
Vare Trophy in Lydia Ko’s sights again as she's back in Pelican Women’s Championship field
Andrew Redington
Lydia Ko is once again in the field at the LPGA’s Pelican Women’s Championship. And so long as she plays, the 24-year-old will now be eligible for one of the LPGA’s most prestigious year-end awards, the Vare Trophy, for the lowest season-long stroke average.
The 16-time LPGA winner recently announced she would be playing the Aramco Saudi Ladies International on the Ladies European Tour, which is being held Nov. 4-7. With the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship help Nov. 18-22—and offering a first-place check of $1.5 million—Ko was going to take the week of the Pelican (Nov. 11-14) off to rest up.
However, missing the Pelican would leave Ko one round short of the 70-round minimum needed to be eligible for the Vare. Contacted by Golf Digest, Ko's agent, Jay Burton, said that she is currently on the Pelican playing list. The news was first reported by Golfweek.
Ko is currently third on tour in stroke average at 69.615, trailing Jin Young Ko and Nelly Korda. However, both those players will fall short of the 70-round minimum, allowing Lydia Ko to become the front-runner for the Vare. And winning the trophy offers a unique spoil—it’s worth a point for a player as she attempts to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. Players need a total of 27 points to get in, and Ko sits at 19.
Sources: golfchannel.com & golfdigest.com