Michelle Wie eyes No. 1 ranking on an LPGA Tour coming off its best season ever

Michelle Wie, after her most successful LPGA campaign that included her first major title, may be ready to fulfill the potential the golf world expected of her back when she was a pre-teen phenom.

The popular Hawaiian native flirted with winning last week’s CME Group Tour Championship and the Race to the CME Globe but even coming in T5 and third, respectively, boosted her confidence and desire to finish on top next year.

Wie has made no secret of her yearning to surpass Inbee Park for the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, but the current No. 6 will have to play through a stacked field of golfers equally determined to retain or attain top billing.

"I worked really hard all year to try and get to No. 1," said Wie, who was briefly projected to claim the $1 million Race bonus that Lydia Ko pocketed with her playoff win over Carlota Ciganda. "I was really close. That kind of gets me going for next year, something to look forward to, really motivates me."

The ascendency of Wie -- with two wins in 2014, including the U.S. Women’s Open for her first major title -- coincided with what many observers believe was the LPGA’s best year. Capped by Ko’s overtime victory and historic payday, the 17-year-old from New Zealand and Wie were two of several players providing drama and excitement in a year filled with both.

Indeed, one could argue that Wie’s Open win in June was the high point for the LPGA, but also in the running were Lexi Thompson outplaying Wie for the season-opening major (and Thompson’s first) at the Kraft Nabisco, Christina Kim’s inspirational comeback victory at Lorena Ochoa’s event, and Paula Creamer’s unbelievable 75-foot eagle putt to win the HSBC Women’s Champions.

Don’t forget the Park-Stacy Lewis shootout down the stretch in Taiwan, Lewis capturing all three coveted season-ending awards (Player of the Year, Vare Trophy, and money title), and Mo Martin’s walk-off eagle at the Women’s British Open.

And then there was the cool and collected Ko calmly two-putting for par and the $500,000 winner’s share of the Tour Championship after learning she had already sewn up the $1 million bonus for nabbing the inaugural, season-long Race to the CME Globe.

For the currently third-ranked golfer it was her third win of the season, matching the individual hat tricks of Lewis and Park, and her fifth LPGA triumph overall. Perhaps an even more impressive stat for Ko was her overall 42 tour starts without a missed cut -- and the teenager with ice water in her veins is just getting started.

There have now been 6 wins in @LPGA history by players under age 18. Lydia Ko has 5 of them.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) November 23, 2014

"One of the things I try and do is just have fun. Doesn't matter if I'm shooting a 70 or 75 or 65, I try and stay in the moment and really have fun and just enjoy every tournament. You really never know what's going to happen at the end of that Sunday," Ko observed in her 2014 wrap-up interview. "I always say, ‘just have fun.’ That's the most important thing. That's a big key, I think, to having a long career."

The quick rise of the youngest winner in tour history, Rookie of the Year, and to $2 million in career earnings could serve as additional incentive for her opponents, or leave them shaking in their FootJoys. With a healthy slate of 33 tournaments offering the richest purses in LPGA history coming up next year after such a strong 2014, we’re betting on the former.

"The goals won’t change: try to win golf tournaments, majors, be in contention on Sundays," Lewis said after finishing T9 in the season finale and runner-up to Ko for the $1 million jackpot on Sunday. "The goals won’t change."