Narin An leads with a 64 in the wind as Nelly Korda struggles in LPGA finale

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Narin An handled the windy conditions with a hot putter on Thursday, making four straight birdies around the turn and finishing with an 8-under 64 for a one-shot lead in the CME Group Tour Championship.

At stake for the 60-player field is a $4 million prize to the winner, the largest single-day payoff in women's golf.

Nelly Korda already has won more than that during her sterling season of seven wins. Now she faces an eight-shot deficit over the next three days at Tiburon Golf Club if she wants to end her year in fitting fashion.

Korda, coming off a victory last week, couldn't make amends for her three bogeys and had to settle for an even-par 72. She has come from behind in four of her victories, and still has 54 holes ahead of her. But it has made the task that much tougher.

Everything felt easy for An, a 28-year-old from South Korea who has never won on the LPGA and has never cracked the top 10 in any of the 16 majors she has played.

“Today my putt really good,” An said. “The speed was good and the shape was good. I just try to focus a little bit more.”

She had a one-shot lead over Angel Yin, who shot 30 on the back nine, including an eagle on the par-5 17th hole that most players can easily reach in two.

Former U.S. Women's Open champion Allisen Corpuz and Marina Alex were at 66, with Lydia Ko leading the group at 67.

Despite the wind so typical along the Gulf Coast of Florida, 27 players — nearly half the field — shot in the 60s.

“It's a good head start for the big ol' prize we get at the end of the week,” Yin said.

Whoever wins this week is assured of breaking the 17-year-old LPGA record for most money earned in season. The record was set by Lorena Ochoa in 2007 at $4,364,994, back when the total prize money was about half of what it is now. Ochoa earned $1 million for winning the Tour Championship in 2007.

The opening round followed a big night of awards for the LPGA Tour, where Korda officially picked up her first award as player of the year, which she clinched earlier this month.

Ko was recognized for her big year, highlighted by an Olympic gold medal that put her into the LPGA Hall of Fame. She regained plenty of focus for the opening round on a course where she won just two years ago.

“The course isn't easy,” Ko said. “I set a goal of shooting 3 under today, and somebody shot 8 under. I was like, ‘OK, maybe I need to make a few more birdies.’ It's a course that can get away from you as much as you can shoot some low scores, so I’m just trying to stick to my game plan and go from there.”

Also in the group at 67 was Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland, already celebrating a big year with her debut in the Solheim Cup and her first appearance in the Tour Championship.

She made a late run at her first LPGA title last week at Pelican Golf Club, and kept up her form. And she can see the finish line, which is appealing.

“I everyone is looking at that $4 million price tag,” Valenzuela said. “I try not to look too much at the result. I feel like in the past I’ve always been stuck on results, and ultimately all I can do is control my own round, my own energy, my own commitment.

“It's the last week of the year. It’s kind of the bonus week. No matter what, everyone is having a paycheck.”

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Nelly Korda hits from the sand on the sixth hole during the first round of the LPGA CME Group Tour Championship golf tournament Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Naples, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris Tilley)

Jean Thitkul hits from the rough on the sixth green during the first round of the LPGA CME Group Tour Championship golf tournament Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Naples, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris Tilley)

Hadrian Ryu tees off on the first hole during the first round of the LPGA CME Group Tour Championship golf tournament Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Naples, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris Tilley)

Mao Saigo hits from the sand on the sixth hole during the first round of the LPGA CME Group Tour Championship golf tournament Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Naples, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris Tilley)

Nelly Korda tees off on the first hole during the first round of the LPGA CME Group Tour Championship golf tournament Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Naples, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris Tilley)

Nelly Korda tees off on the first hole during the first round of the LPGA CME Group Tour Championship golf tournament Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Naples, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris Tilley)

AVIGNON, France (AP) — A mammoth rape trial in France moved into a new phase Monday as prosecutors began to lay out the verdicts and punishments they want for dozens of men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot while she was drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband.

After hearings stretching over nearly three months, the trial of 51 defendants in the southern city of Avignon is beginning to wrap up. Pelicot’s courage during the harrowing proceedings has helped transform her into an icon, even beyond France, for campaigners fighting against sexual violence.

The public prosecutors started Monday by focusing on Dominique Pelicot, the man that 71-year-old Gisèle Pelicot was married to for nearly 50 years and who she believed was a loving, caring husband.

But he has admitted that for years he mixed sedatives into her food and drink so he could rape her and also invite dozens of strangers that he recruited online to also rape her.

Prosecutor Laure Chabaud asked the panel of judges for the maximum possible penalty for aggravated rape — 20 years — against the victim's now ex-husband. Dominique Pelicot, who turns 72 this week, stared down at the floor, one hand on the handle of his cane, as the prosecutor spoke.

“Twenty years between the four walls of a prison,” she said. “It’s both a lot and not enough.”

The court is expected to deliver its verdicts before Dec. 20.

Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity, pushed for graphic images that her husband filmed of the rapes to be presented in the courtroom, showing that she was unconscious and inert, audibly snoring.

“This woman was you, Madame Gisèle Pelicot, an ordinary woman," said prosecutor Jean-François Mayet, turning to her, as he praised her courage and her desire to make shame change sides, so it falls on rapists and not their victims.

He noted that Monday also marked the international day for the elimination of violence against women and said that France faces “a long path for our society to change its view of rape culture.”

Gisèle Pelicot sat quietly, sometimes staring up the ceiling, as the prosecutors detailed how Dominique Pelicot amassed and carefully catalogued a library of 20,000 photos and videos of the abuse that stretched over nearly a decade. The evidence that he stored on hard drives, memory sticks and phones led investigators to dozens of the men he recruited, although about 20 others haven't been identified.

All but one of the defendants are on trial for aggravated rape or attempted rape. In previous testimony, she said they treated her "like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.”

“When did they ask the question of Madame Pelicot's consent? Not before. Not during," Mayet said.

Members of the public who hoped to witness the proceedings and lined up outside booed some defendants as they entered the courthouse, yelling: “We recognize you” and “Shame.” Banners that campaigners hung opposite the building read: “20 years for each of them” and “a rape is a rape.”

Gisèle Pelicot was greeted outside with cheers and applause.

“We feel it does her good. And it’s doing us good, too, because she’s really making a difference when it comes to feminism,” said Chantal Crémont, a supporter who traveled from western France.

She added: “It’s revolutionary in a way. When she says that shame changes sides, it’s really that. She’s standing as the victim, and she’s turning the tables. It’s very important."

Prosecutors described, one-by-one, the rapes that Dominique Pelicot's co-defendants allegedly committed on his unconscious wife and with his help and rules, including that they not make loud noises and first warm their hands so as not to wake her up.

The defendants and alleged rapes are so numerous that the prosecutors were expected to take three days to summarize the evidence and detail the verdicts and sentences they want. In the first cases that the prosecutors focused on Monday, after requesting 20 years imprisonment for Dominique Pelicot, they asked for sentences of 10 years or more for co-defendants also on trial for rape or attempted rape.

Dominique Pelicot has previously tearfully acknowledged in court that he’s guilty of the allegations against him. He said all of his co-defendants understood exactly what they were doing when he invited them to his home in Provence between 2011 and 2020 to have sex with his unconscious and unwitting wife, who divorced him after learning what he had done to her. He had no difficulty finding dozens of men to take part.

In previous weeks of testimony, many defendants told the court that they couldn’t have imagined that Dominique Pelicot was drugging his wife, and that they were told she was a willing participant acting out a kinky fantasy.

Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, said the prosecutors' request for the maximum possible penalty against him was justified “in view of the gravity of the facts and the seriousness of the acts of which he is accused.”

“There’s no surprise in asking for 20 years, and that’s what I personally expected. But it’s still a shocking and heavy sentence for a man who’ll be 72 in a few days,” she said.

FILE - Gisele Pelicot, who was allegedly drugged by her now former husband so that he and others could assault her, arrives at the court house, in Avignon, southern France, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot speaks to media as she leaves the Avignon court house, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)