Stacy Lewis, Inbee Park chasing each other for LPGA honors

NAPLES, Fla. – Stacy Lewis and Inbee Park have been proverbially joined at the hip for three years now, traversing the LPGA Tour's vast worldwide reach as the two best players in women's golf.

Now an eyelash separates the two this week at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship as they try to win the game's biggest year-end awards – they are 1-2 in the race for player of the year honors, the money title and the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average.

They are also 1-2 in the Race to the CME Globe, a season-long points race that rewards $1 million to the winner.

It's been that way since the start of the 2012 season.

Lewis was the player of the year in 2012, Park in 2013 as she became the first Korean to win the award.

Lewis won the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average in 2013, Park in 2012. Park has won the money title each of the last two years, with Lewis finishing third each year and leading this year.

The two have clearly separated themselves from the game's other top players, providing the benchmarks for all on tour. And each knows they might not be as good without the other pushing them, inspiring them.

This year each has three wins and 17 top-10 finishes. Park, who has 11 wins and 40 top-10s since the start of 2012, is the world's No. 1; Lewis, with 10 wins and 52 top-10s since the start of 2012, is No. 2.

The battle between Lewis and Park is a fitting end to the Tour's magical season in which Lewis and Park have led the way, Michelle Wie won her first major, Paula Creamer made the 75-foot putt heard round the world, and Lydia Ko became at 17 the youngest to earn $1 million in LPGA history.

So it was no surprise to see Lewis and Park with Ko in the final group Thursday, walking stride by stride and trading shot for shot over windswept and difficult Tiburon Golf Club.

And only two strokes separated the two at the end of the round, with Lewis, who eagled the par-5 17^th, coming home with a 3-under-par 69 to Park's 71.

Julieta Granada, who in 2006 at age 20 claimed the first $1 million jackpot in LPGA Tour history when she won the LPGA Playoffs at ADT, set the pace with a 66.

"It's nice to be playing and not be talking about (the races) or worrying about it all the time. I think we were all kind of a little bit nervous, a little bit hesitant there at the beginning, but we seemed to all kind of settle in," said Lewis, who could become the first American since Betsy King in 1993 to win the POY honors, the Vare Trophy and the money title. "It's one good round. We've got a long, long way to go, but it's nice to get off to a good start."

Lewis leads the Race to the CME Globe. She, Park and Ko automatically win the $1 million bonus if they win the CME Globe Tour Championship, which comes with a $500,000 first-place kicker.

Lewis leads the race for LPGA player of the year by just three points. And Lewis leads Park in the race for the Vare Trophy, 69.476 to 69.571, with Wie having an outside shot to win at 69.795.

And Lewis leads the money race by just under $300,000.

All of which weighed on Park.

"It's tough to have everything in one week," said Park, who has nine consecutive top-10s. "I'm just happy that I still have a chance to win everything. And I think everyone is thinking about the $1 million."

While their stats sheets are nearly identical, there are plenty of differences between Lewis and Park.

Lewis is more prone to wear her emotions on her sleeve; Park rarely breaks into a smile on the course even after draining 40-foot putts.

Lewis hits the ball higher and longer and can count tenacity as one of her better traits. Park is more methodical and prone to wear down an opponent with a monotonous amount of good shots.

"We're very different in our personalities," Lewis said. "Our golf games are somewhat similar in that we're both consistent, but you could probably take different parts of our games where maybe Inbee is better or I'm better. We get it done different ways. Whether it's a rivalry, I don't know."

But each does know who makes the other better.

"Stacy was always there with me," Park said of the last three years. "If there was just me and nobody playing as consistent as me then I probably wouldn't have a lot of motivation. It's good to play against a player like that."