NAPLES, Fla. -- A birdie on No. 9 put American Cristie Kerr at 13-under and alone in first place midway through Sunday's final round at the CME Group Tour Championship.
Kerr drew ahead of American Lexi Thompson, who is 3-under for the day, and South Korea's Ha Na Jang.
More than an inch of rain hit Tiburon Golf Club Saturday night and Sunday morning. Rains continued late Sunday morning and more was projected early afternoon but they held off.
The soaked greens made golfers a bit wary, which led a variance in the speed of their putts.
Jang, American Gerina Piller and France's Karine Icher started with birdies but had a hard time sustaining it.
Thompson, who briefly tied the leaders, had birdies on Nos. 1, 6 and 8. Jang played at even par.
American Brittany Lincicome and Icher are at 12-under while Piller is one of four players at 11-under.
American Sydnee Michaels is at 7-under for the day has moved to 11-under.
The Race For The CME Globe also is being hotly contested by the big three -- No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand, South Korea's Inbee Park and American Stacy Lewis. A win by any of those three gives them the Globe title and the $1 million bonus.
Park and Ko are 11-under while Lewis is 9-under.
Many of the LPGA's season-ending awards between Ko and Park are on the line this weekend, including No. 1 Player in the world, Rolex Player of the Year and Vare Trophy (money title). They both have won five tournaments this year. Lewis is ranked No. 3 despite having no tourney wins.
