One shot determines winner of LPGA’s Vare Trophy for scoring average

The math was simple Sunday at the CME Group Tour Championship: Whoever shot lower in the final round, Ayaka Furue or Haeran Ryu, would win the Vare Trophy.

Furue and Ryu were the top two eligible players to win the LPGA’s scoring average title (Jeeno Thitikul and Nelly Korda didn’t meet the minimum number of rounds played this season).

Ryu had a slight edge entering the week but, after three rounds at Tiburon Golf Club, the two were knotted in the season-long battle.

Ryu posted first on Sunday, just missing a birdie putt on her final hole to card 3-under 69. At the time, Furue was 4 under for her round with five holes to play.

The Japanese player, however, bogeyed the 15th to drop to 3 under for the day. Had she finished there, the two players would have shared the award. But Furue birdied the par-5 17th and parred the last to win outright.