Nataliya Guseva needed something special on her final hole Sunday at The Annika, and she delivered in spectacular fashion.
Sitting precariously at 59th in the Race to CME Globe standings, the 22-year-old Russian faced a must-par situation on the 18th hole to secure her spot in the upcoming CME Group Tour Championship. The top 60 players earn entry to the $11 million season finale, where everyone has a shot at the massive $4 million winner’s check.
After a wayward drive, Guseva had 108 yards for her third shot. She landed it perfectly at the top of the green’s crest, then watched as her ball rolled straight into the cup for a birdie that was equal parts clutch and dramatic.
That stylish finish capped a final-round 68 at Pelican Golf Club, giving her a tie for seventh and vaulting her to 57th in the CME standings — up seven spots from where she started the week.
Guseva wasn’t the only player who secured a last-minute ticket to Tiburon Golf Club in Naples. Lucy Li lived on the edge all day, projected safely in the field through 16 holes, then suddenly out after a three-putt bogey at 17. But Li responded with a birdie at the last, and her tie for fourth jumped her 13 spots to 58th in the standings.
Brooke Matthews put together a weekend charge that few saw coming. She fired rounds of 64-65 to finish tied for ninth, good enough to claim the 59th position in the standings. Her Sunday round was particularly memorable — it included her first-ever hole-in-one at the par-3 12th (which earned her a two-year Lamborghini lease), a chip-in eagle at the par-5 14th, and a clutch par save at the last hole.
The flip side of these success stories? Jenny Shin (dropped from 58th to 61st), Wei-Ling Hsu (59th to 62nd) and Cassie Porter (60th to 64th) all found themselves on the wrong side of the cut line when the dust settled.
The Annika also served as the final event for players to secure LPGA tour cards for 2026. In Gee Chun’s tie for 26th proved just enough, moving her up four spots to 99th in the standings. That improvement came at the expense of Pornanong Phatlum, who missed the cut and tumbled from 97th to 101st — the only movement in and out of the crucial top 100.
Alexa Pano, who entered the week clinging to the 100th position, tied for 36th to finish 97th in the standings, securing her card with room to spare.
