NAPLES, Fla. – Austin Ernst leads the tournament, Sei Young Kim leads the race for $1 million and Lydia Ko has edged closer to everything else that’s at stake this weekend.

So as expected, the LPGA’s finale for 2015 is off to a hectic start.

Ernst shot a 6-under 66 Thursday to take a one-shot lead over South Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee after the opening round of the CME Group Tour Championship. Kim, part of a group two shots off Ernst’s pace, would win the season-ending $1 million bonus if the tournament ended in its current order. Ko shot a 69 to move closer to earning player of the year honours, plus the scoring and money titles.

“I’ve just got to think of it as another tournament,” said Ko, the 18-year-old from New Zealand who holds the No. 1 ranking. “That’s what I said for all the majors. I’ve got to focus on one shot at a time and not think like it’s a major so it’s more special and all that. Obviously, it is, at the end of the day. But it’s another tournament. We’ve got the world’s best golfers here, the top players are here, it’s a great field, it does feel like a major.

“And with everything that might come along on Sunday, it might be more than that.”

She would know, after sweeping the tournament and the bonus a year ago. Ko opened with a 71 at Tiburon last year and was five back after the first round; she was two shots better, and two shots closer to the lead, after Thursday.

Meanwhile, Ernst – who has struggled mightily in her past trips to Tiburon – took a new and simple approach to the course this time. All she tried to do was stay out of trouble, and she made it look easy.

“I drove it pretty well today,” said Ernst, an American who hit 17 greens. “I’ve been hitting it well this year. It’s really just a matter of I needed to get myself in better positions. I didn’t really put too much stock in how I’ve played here the last two years.”

Lee was alone in second. At 68, Kim was in a six-way tie for third with five Americans – Jennifer Song, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome, Jaye Marie Green and Gerina Piller.

“It’s great to come in and have a good round on the first day,” Lincicome said. “My dad always told me, you can’t win it on the first day but you can definitely lose it. So I put myself in contention a little bit.”

Kim, a three-time winner this year, already has wrapped up rookie of the year honours and entered the week as one of the nine players with a shot at winning the “Race to CME Globe” and the accompanying $1 million bonus. Ko, Inbee Park and Stacy Lewis would all capture that bonus by winning the season finale; Park struggled with the Bermuda greens and shot 71, while Lewis opened her last chance at winning a tournament this year with a 72.

“Just wasn’t very good,” Lewis said. “Didn’t really hit the ball very solid and never gave myself a lot of good birdie chances. Just didn’t play very well.”

Ko and Park will decide the world’s No. 1 ranking this week, along with the scoring title, player of the year and the money crown. For Ko to ensure she goes into the off-season with all those, she needs to finish two shots ahead of Park.

“I don’t know how they are sleeping at night, to be honest with you,” said Lincicome, who isn’t one of the nine with a shot at the $1 million. “It’s a lot of pressure, especially Lydia, she is so young and she handles it so well. To have so many different prizes on the line, I don’t think I would sleep.”

Canada’s Brooke Henderson also opened with a 72, while compatriot Alena Sharp had a 74.

NAPLES, Fla. – Without question, it’s a rivalry. Lydia Ko and Inbee Park are just choosing not to make it a heated one.

All they’re playing for this week at the LPGA Tour Championship is the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, the season’s money crown, the yearlong scoring title and the tour’s player of the year award. Oh, a potential payday of $1.5 million might be awaiting them as well. And Park could wrap up her eventual spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

It’s not a head-to-head matchup that starts Thursday at Tiburon Golf Club – there are 69 other players in the field – but it sure seems like one, given that the tour’s biggest award races are left for Ko and Park to decide.

“We have everything on the line,” Park said. “What Lydia is doing can affect so many things and what I can achieve. It’s hard, but there’s nothing I can do. I can’t make Lydia play bad or good. I can’t do anything like that. I’ve got to do good and then just see what happens.”

They’ll be paired together Thursday, along with world No. 3 Stacy Lewis. Like Ko and Park, Lewis also controls her destiny when it comes to the $1 million “Race to CME Globe” bonus; with a win, any of them clinch that cash. There’s another six women in the field who also have a chance to win the million, including world No. 4 Lexi Thompson.

If she’s wrapped up in the Ko vs. Park storyline, it isn’t showing.

“I can’t say I really think about that,” Thompson said. “But with golf … it’s kind of selfish, but you kind of have to just worry about yourself and not worry about all the other players.”

Ko won the tournament last year as a 17-year-old, plus went home with the $1 million bonus after getting doused in a greenside celebration with champagne that she can’t legally drink. The money is displayed in a glass cube, flanked by security guards. And the closest Ko came to disappointment last year was finding out that she couldn’t actually get to keep the cash in that box and would be paid through more conventional means.

Ko skipped the last two weeks in Japan and Mexico, saying she needed a little rest for the finale. Apparently, the grind of an LPGA season is even tiring to talented teenagers.

“I mean, it’s great to come back, and the best part was I pulled out my yardage book from last year and I had to kind of rip the pages apart because of the champagne, the pages stuck together,” Ko said. “So that’s not a bad thing to happen.”

There is a clear respect shared by Ko and Park, both seeing the similarities in their games.

Anyone could see the similarities in their numbers.

Both have five wins this year. Ko enters this week with a slight edge in the world ranking, one that could easily be overtaken by Park for No. 1. Park (69.433) leads Ko (69.449) by a sliver in the race for the Vare Trophy, given to the player with the year’s best scoring average on tour. Ko leads the money list in another race that still isn’t decided, and she also carries a three-point edge in the player-of-the-year race into the finale.

This week decides all those races.

“I really think if I win one, I win it all,” Park said. “If Lydia wins one, she’s going to win it all. I don’t think we get to choose one.”

So there will be tournaments within the tournament. The tour championship and its $500,000 first prize is hardly irrelevant. The way the points for the bonus are structured, it was assured that the $1 million would be decided this weekend. To add all the other award elements into the week, it’s easy to see why the weekend is shaping up for drama.

Ko said she’s going to play the same way she always does, with no plans to worry about anything else.

“I don’t even know how those points systems work to be honest,” Ko said. “I heard last week on TV that the winner gets 30 points. I was like, ‘Oh, sweet.’ I didn’t know how it all works. Too many numbers, and I’m not very good at mathematics, either. Adding and minus – as long as we’re going up, that’s a good thing.”

MEXICO CITY – Inbee Park won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Sunday, holding off Carlota Ciganda for her fifth victory of the season and 17th LPGA Tour title.

The second-ranked South Korean star birdied the final two holes for a bogey-free 8-under 64 and a three-stroke victory over Ciganda in cloudy conditions at tree-lined Club de Golf Mexico.

“It was definitely the putter. It was really good this week,” Park said. “I made a lot of birdies this week. It was a lot of fun today with Carlota playing so well. … It was almost a perfect day today. I didn’t make any mistakes, so I was able to focus on my game.”

Ciganda shot a 63. The Spaniard eagled the par-5 second hole and had eight birdies and a bogey.

“I did the best I could,” Ciganda said. “I putted really well today. I think that was the key. … Inbee played unbelievable and she has lots of experience. She knows how to win.”

The former Arizona State player is winless on the LPGA Tour.

Park finished at 18-under 270. She was making her first start since withdrawing in China two weeks ago because of a cyst on her left middle finger.

Tournament host Ochoa won 27 LPGA Tour titles. She retired in 2010.

“Winning this tournament is such an honor,” Park said.

Park took the lead from top-ranked Lydia Ko in the Vare Trophy standings for season scoring average and moved within three points of Ko in the player of the year standings. Park earned $200,000 and is second on the money list with $2,570,096.

Ko skipped skipping the tournament to rest for her title defense next week in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.

South Korea’s Sei Young Kim was third at 13 under after a 66.

So Yeon Ryu, also from South Korea, shot a 67 to finish fourth at 11 under.

Canada’s Alena Sharp tied for 29th at 7 over.

MEXICO CITY – Inbee Park made two late birdies and shot 5-under 67 to open a three-stroke lead Saturday in the LPGA Tour’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

The second-ranked South Korean star hit a 7-iron to 3 feet to set up a birdie on the par-3 16th, and made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th. She had a 10-under 206 total at tree-lined Club de Golf Mexico.

Park is making her first start since withdrawing in China two weeks ago because of a cyst on her left middle finger. She has four victories this season, winning two of the five majors.

Sei Young Kim, also from South Korea, was second after a 70. She won the event two weeks ago in China for her third victory of the season and has wrapped up the tour’s rookie of the year award.

 Canada’s Alena Sharp shot 72 Saturday and is 28th.

MEXICO CITY – Minjee Lee shot her second straight 3-under 69 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over four players in the LPGA Tour’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

The 19-year-old Australian player two-putted from 50 feet on the par-5 17th for the last of her six birdies at tree-lined Club de Golf Mexico. She won at Kingsmill in May for her first LPGA Tour title.

Second-ranked Inbee Park, defending champion Christina Kim, Angela Stanford and rookie of the year Sei Young Kim were tied for second in the 36-player event. Park, the first-round leader, had a 71. Christina Kim and Sei Young Kim each shot 66, and Stanford had a 70.

Park is making her first start since withdrawing in China two weeks ago because of a cyst on her left middle finger. The South Korean star has four victories this season, winning two of the five majors.

Sei Young Kim, also from South Korea, won the event in China for her third victory of the season.

Stanford is coming off playoff loss to Sun-Ju Ahn last week in the Asian Swing finale in Japan. The American won the inaugural tournament in 2008 in Guadalajara.

Last year, Christina Kim beat Shanshan Feng on the second hole off a playoff after losing a five-stroke lead in the final round.

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen was sixth at 4 under after a 71.

Canada’s Alena Sharp carded a 1 over 73 Friday and has a share of 31st at 5 over.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko is skipping the tournament to rest for her title defense next week in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.

MEXICO CITY – Inbee Park made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 4-under 68 and a one-stroke lead Thursday in the LPGA Tour’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

The second-ranked Park had seven birdies and three bogeys at tree-lined Club de Golf Mexico. She’s making her first start since withdrawing in China two weeks ago because of a cyst on her left middle finger. The South Korean star has four victories this season, winning two of the five majors.

“I was a little bit worried about not practicing for a few days, but I had a good day today, especially the front nine,” Park said. “It was a good putting day. … I felt really good about the putter. I putted really well today it was a good sign.”

Angela Stanford, Suzann Pettersen and Minjee Lee were tied for second.

Stanford is coming off playoff loss to Sun-Ju Ahn last week in the Asian Swing finale in Japan.

“Tuesday, I felt like I have been hit by a train,” Stanford said about her flight from Japan. “It’s been getting better each day.”

She won the inaugural tournament in 2008 in Guadalajara.

Pettersen was the only player in 36-woman field to have a bogey-free round. The Norwegian won in June in Canada for her 15th LPGA Tour victory. She’s coming off three straight top-eight finishes in Asia.

“It’s just nice to be back in contention and kind of be back where I should be,” Pettersen said. “I should be in contention every week when I feel my game is there. It was a good stretch there to give me some confidence and try to finish out strong.”

The 19-year-old Lee, from Australia, won at Kingsmill in May for her first LPGA Tour title. She took last week off after playing the first four events in Asia.

“I think I really needed that week off when I was in Asia,” Lee said. “I was well-rested and I came in yesterday and did my practice and I was ready to go.”

Mexican amateur Gaby Lopez was tied for fifth at 71 with So Yeon Ryu, Azahara Munoz, Jaye Marie Green, Sydnee Michaels, Pernilla Lindberg and Mariajo Uribe.

Lopez is a senior at the University of Arkansas senior. She was second this year in the NCAA tournament.

“I’m just trying to enjoy the moment,” Lopez said. “It’s amazing playing with the top 30 in the world at my home course with my family and the people around me.”

Fourth-ranked Lexi Thompson, the 20134 winner in Guadalajara, had a 73. The winner last month in South Korea for her second victory of the year, Thompson had six birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey.

Defending champion Christina Kim also had a 73.

Canada’s Alena Sharp carded a 76.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko is skipping the tournament to rest for her title defense next week in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.

SHIMA, Japan – Sun-Ju Ahn won the Toto Japan Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour victory and 20th Japan LPGA title, beating fellow South Korean player Ji-Hee Lee and American Angela Stanford with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

Ahn hit a 6-iron from 165 yards to 5 feet on the par-4 18th to set up the winning putt.

“I’m very happy,” Ahn said. “I didn’t think that I’d be able to win the tournament, but it’s a nice surprise. I’m very happy.”

Lee left a 50-footer short, and Stanford missed from 33 feet.

“About halfway I thought it might have a chance, but it broke more than I thought it would,” Stanford explained. “Sun-Ju hit a really good shot in there. If you stick it on 18, with this hole, you deserve birdie and you deserve to win.”

The 28-year-old Ahn closed with a 5-under 67 at Kintetsu Kashikojima to match Stanford and Lee at 16-under 200. Stanford also shot 67, and Lee had a 66.

Ahn has an option to take LPGA Tour membership next season and is eligible for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

“I haven’t thought much about that yet,” Ahn said. “I’m just going to enjoy this win and this moment.”

Ahn is projected to jump from 29th to 22nd in the world ranking. She also won the Japanese tour’s Century 21 Ladies in July, and had seven career Korea LPGA victories.

The 37-year-old Stanford won the last of her five LPGA Tour titles in 2012. She dropped to 1-4 in playoffs, including a loss in the 2003 U.S. Women’s Open.

She played the first two Asian Swing events in Malaysia and South Korea, then skipped the stops in Taiwan and China.

“When I left Korea I was pretty upset because I played bad in Malaysia and Korea,” Stanford said. “I went home put my head down and wanted to get better. I’m happy with this week.”

South Korea’s Jenny Shin, the second-round leader, had a 70 to finish a stroke back.

Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn closed with a 64 – the best round of the week – to finish fifth at 14 under. She began the day tied for 29th.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis and No. 4 Lexi Thompson topped the group at 12 under. Lewis shot a 68, and Thompson had a 69. Thompson won three weeks ago in South Korea for her second victory of the year.

Michelle Wie tied for 59th at 2 under after a 71. She was one of 21 women to play in all five events on the Asian Swing.

Canada’s Alena Sharp tied for 22nd at 8 under after  a final round 72.

SHIMA, Japan – Jenny Shin shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over fellow South Korean player Ha-Neul Kim in the LPGA Tour’s Toto Japan Classic.

Shin had her second straight bogey-free round at Kintetsu Kashikojima, reaching 13 under with a birdie on the par-3 17th and closing with a par. The 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion is winless in five seasons on the LPGA Tour.

Kim had a 66. She has one victory this year in her first season on the Japan LPGA.

American Angela Stanford was 11 under along with South Korea’s Sun-Ju Ahn and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum. Stanford, tied for the first-round lead, had a 68. Ahn, a 19-time winner on the JLPGA, shot 65, and Phatlum birdied six of first eight holes in a 66.

Canada’s Alena Sharp shot 69 and has a share of 15th at 8 under.

SHIMA, Japan – Americans Angela Stanford and Ryann O’Toole shared the lead at 7-under 65 on Friday in the LPGA Tour’s Toto Japan Classic.

The 37-year-old Stanford had eight birdies and a bogey at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA. She has five LPGA Tour victories and played a key role in the United States’ Solheim Cup comeback with a victory over Suzann Pettersen.

The 28-year-old O’Toole closed with a bogey on the par-4 ninth after playing the previous seven holes in 6 under with an eagle on the par-4 fourth and four birdies. She’s winless in her five-year career.

Japan’s Ai Suzuki was a stroke back along with South Koreans Ha-Neul Kim, Ilhee Lee, Jenny Shin and Mi-Jeong Jeon. Canadian Alena Sharp, Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson topped the group at 67.

HAINAN ISLAND, China – Sei Young Kim made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th for a one-stroke victory Sunday in the Blue Bay LPGA.

The 22-year-old South Korean player won for the third time in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour, closing with a 2-under 70 at difficult Jian Lake Blue Bay for a 2-under 286 total.

“I was like really nervous on the last putt,” Kim said. “I can hear my heart pound.”

After high wind sent scores soaring the first three days, the players faced only a moderate breeze on a rainy afternoon along the South China Sea.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis, fellow American Kim Kaufman and Taiwan’s Candie Kung finished a stroke back. Kim holed her winning putt after playing partners Lewis and Kung missed birdie tries – Lewis from 20 feet and Kung from 10.

Lewis finished with a 70 for her sixth runner-up finish of the season and the 21st of her career. She won the last of her 11 LPGA Tour titles in June 2014.

“She is one of my favorite players, so I’m very honored to play with her,” Kim said about Lewis. “But I win, she still is my idol.”

Kung shot a 71. Kaufman, playing a group ahead, had a 69 for the best round of the day.

“It was so hard out there,” Kung said. “You can’t worry about what other people are doing. We’re just trying to hold the umbrella. ‘Is it going to rain? Is it not going to rain?’ … It was busy out there.”

Kim won playoffs this year in the Bahamas and Hawaii in events also played in strong wind on seaside layouts.

“This year my target was just three wins, so I feel very fulfilled,” Kim said. “I also come through rookie of the year, so I would be very honored to win that.”

The five-time Korea LPGA winner earned $300,000 to move up a spot to fourth on the money list with $1,727,436 and is projected to jump from 11th to eighth in the world.

“The first goal is Olympic gold medal. Then my next goal is No. 1,” Kim said.

Kim dropped into a four-way tie for the lead on the par-3 17th when she three-putted from about 120 feet on the massive beachside green. Kung hit to 2 1/2 feet and Lewis to 4 1/2 feet, but missed their putts to the right.

“I tried to cut a shot because the pin, there’s no room behind, and I made a mistake,” Kim said. “I was very upset after that hole. … After they missed, I got a new opportunity.”

Kim’s best shot was on the par-4 10th when she holed a 40-foot flop from the rough to save par after hitting her approach long and left into the water.

“That chip happened to me, so I trust more that I can win,” Kim said.

She pulled even with Lewis with a birdie on the par-4 13th. Kim’s 3-wood drive took a big forward bounce off a cart path, leaving her a sand wedge approach that she hit to 6 feet. Lewis three-putted for bogey, missing a 5 1/2-footer.

Kim moved ahead on the par-5 14th when she made a 10-foot birdie putt and Lewis missed an 8-footer.

Kaufman had her best finish in her first two seasons on the tour. The 24-year-old former Texas Tech player from tiny Clark, South Dakota, birdied Nos. 9, 11, 14 and 15, then missed mid-range birdie tries on the final three holes.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot her second straight 70 to tie for eighth at 4 over. She had the best weekend total in the field after opening with rounds of 77 and 75.

“I’m happy that everything’s over and I can relax and go back home,” Ko said..

Ko won the LPGA Taiwan by nine strokes last week to regain the No. 1 spot from Inbee Park. The 18-year-old New Zealander has a tour-high five victories.

Canada’s Alena Sharp recorded her best LPGA Tour finish in 10 years, a tie for 5th at 3-over.