Hira Naveed’s impressive rookie year on the LPGA Tour has put her in with an outside chance of reaching the big-money tour championship.
The 26-year-old from Perth finished tied-17th in the Toto Japan Classic at the weekend, jumping four places to No. 70 on the points rankings.
The top 60 compete for $US11 million in the CME Group Tour Championship in Florida in late November, with Naveed, who is 130 points behind the 60th player on the points list, teeing it up this week in Hawaii at the Lotte Championship with high hopes of grabbing a decent share of the 500 points on offer.
There are two tournaments remaining before the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, from November 21: Hawaii this week and Florida next.
The Australian players certain to be teeing it up in the tour finale are Hannah Green (6), Gabriela Ruffels (25) and Grace Kim (47). Minjee Lee (54) and Steph Kyriacou (57) seem likely to hold on to their places as well, although Lee is not on the start list for Hawaii this week.
Naveed was born in New Zealand but grew up in Perth, working through the junior programs and winning a Victorian Junior Masters and The Dunes medal as an amateur, before picking up a scholarship at Pepperdine University in the United States and spending four years in the college system.
She graduated to the LPGA Tour via the Epson Tour and earlier this year finished runner-up to Nelly Korda in the Ford Championship at just her second start as a full member of the LPGA Tour. She has earned more than $US340,000 in her first year.
Photo: Getty Images
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