19-time LPGA Tour winner ascends to No. 1 for the first time since 2017
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 28, 2022 – For the third time in her LPGA Tour career, Lydia Ko has ascended to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Ko moved up one spot in the Rolex Rankings to World No. 1, passing Nelly Korda, who regained the top spot on Nov. 14, 2022, following her one-shot victory at the Pelican Women’s Championship.
Ko first reached No. 1 in 2015, holding the top spot from February 2 to June 14 for a total of 19 weeks, and last held the No. 1 ranking for 85 weeks from October 2015 to June 2017. The span of 5 years, 5 months and 17 days is the longest period between No. 1 rankings. The previous longest stretch came in 2018 when Inbee Park reclaimed the top spot for the first time since 2015, a span of 2 years, 5 months and 29 days.
"I'm very grateful to be World No. 1 again. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd ever be back here again," said Ko. "This wouldn't have been possible without my family and team, thank you for your belief and love."
This is Ko’s 105th week in the top position and she is currently fifth in most weeks spent at World No. 1, one shy of Inbee Park’s 106 weeks and four short of Yani Tseng’s 109 weeks. Lorena Ochoa’s 158 weeks at World No. 1 is the most in the history of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, followed by Jin Young Ko’s 152 weeks.
Ko recorded three victories in 2022 at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, the BMW Ladies Championship and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship where she took home a $2 million winner’s check, the largest first-place prize in the history of women’s golf. In addition to being named the Race to the CME Globe champion, Ko earned Rolex Player of the Year honors for the second time in her career and captured the Vare Trophy, the award given to the player with the season’s lowest scoring average, for the second consecutive year. Ko finished 2022 with 25 points toward the LPGA Hall of Fame, two points away from the 27 necessary for induction.
Along with her three wins, Ko recorded nine other top-five finishes in 2022, including fifth at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by ProMedica and a tie for third at the Amundi Evian Championship. She finished the season leading the LPGA Tour in strokes gained total (2.500) as well as top-10 finish percentage (64%). Ko also took home the 2022 Official Money Title with $4,364,403.
Ko joined the LPGA Tour in 2014 and has amassed 19 victories in her Tour tenure, tied for 29th most of all time. She is a two-time major champion with wins at the 2015 Amundi Evian Championship and 2016 Chevron Championship, and is a two-time Olympic medalist, taking home the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
History of the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings Number One Position
# | Player | Age (Y/M/D) | From: | To: | No. of Weeks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
38 | Lydia Ko (3) | 25/6/21 | November 28, 2022 | Present | 1 |
37 | Nelly Korda (3) | 24/3/7 | November 14, 2022 | November 28, 2022 | 2 |
36 | Atthaya Thitikul | 19/8/3 | October 31, 2022 | November 14, 2022 | 2 |
35 | Jin Young Ko (4) | 26/6/24 | January 31, 2022 | October 30, 2022 | 38 |
34 | Nelly Korda (2) | 23/3/11 | November 8, 2021 | January 30, 2022 | 12 |
33 | Jin Young Ko (3) | 26/3/18 | October 25, 2021 | November 7, 2021 | 2 |
32 | Nelly Korda | 22/11/0 | June 28, 2021 | October 24, 2021 | 17 |
31 | Jin Young Ko (2) | 24/0/22 | July 29, 2019 | June 27, 2021 | 100 |
30 | Sung Hyun Park (4) | 25/9/10 | July 1, 2019 | July 28, 2019 | 4 |
29 | Jin Young Ko (1) | 23/9/1 | April 8, 2019 | June 30, 2019 | 12 |
28 | Sung Hyun Park (3) | 25/5/13 | March 4, 2019 | April 7, 2019 | 5 |
27 | Ariya Jutanugarn (3) | 22/11/6 | October 29, 2018 | March 3, 2019 | 18 |
26 | Sung Hyun Park (2) | 24/10/29 | August 20, 2018 | October 28, 2018 | 10 |
25 | Ariya Jutanugarn (2) | 22/8/7 | July 30, 2018 | August 19, 2018 | 3 |
24 | Inbee Park (4) | 29/9/11 | April 23, 2018 | July 29, 2018 | 14 |
23 | Shanshan Feng | 28/3/8 | November 13, 2017 | April 22, 2018 | 23 |
22 | Sung Hyun Park (1) | 24/1/16 | November 6, 2017 | November 12, 2017 | 1 |
21 | So Yeon Ryu | 26/11/28 | June 26, 2017 | November 5, 2017 | 19 |
20 | Ariya Jutanugarn (1) | 21/6/20 | June 12, 2017 | June 25, 2017 | 2 |
19 | Lydia Ko (2) | 18/6/2 | October 26, 2015 | June 11, 2017 | 85 |
18 | Inbee Park (3) | 26/11/3 | June 15, 2015 | October 25, 2015 | 19 |
17 | Lydia Ko (1) | 17/9/9 | February 2, 2015 | June 14, 2015 | 19 |
16 | Inbee Park (2) | 26/3/15 | October 27, 2014 | February 1, 2015 | 14 |
15 | Stacy Lewis (2) | 29/3/17 | June 2, 2014 | October 26, 2014 | 21 |
14 | Inbee Park (1) | 24/9/3 | April 15, 2013 | June 1, 2014 | 59 |
13 | Stacy Lewis (1) | 28/1/2 | March 18, 2013 | April 14, 2013 | 4 |
12 | Yani Tseng | 22/0/22 | February 14, 2011 | March 17, 2013 | 109 |
11 | Jiyai Shin (3) | 22/6/4 | November 1, 2010 | February 13, 2011 | 15 |
10 | Cristie Kerr (3) | 33/0/13 | October 25, 2010 | October 31, 2010 | 1 |
9 | Ai Miyazato (3) | 25/2/4 | August 23, 2010 | October 24, 2010 | 9 |
8 | Cristie Kerr (2) | 32/10/4 | August 16, 2010 | August 22, 2010 | 1 |
7 | Jiyai Shin (2) | 22/2/28 | July 26, 2010 | August 15, 2010 | 3 |
6 | Ai Miyazato (2) | 25/1/0 | July 19, 2010 | July 25, 2010 | 1 |
5 | Cristie Kerr (1) | 32/8/16 | June 28, 2010 | July 18, 2010 | 3 |
4 | Ai Miyazato (1) | 25/0/2 | June 21, 2010 | June 27, 2010 | 1 |
3 | Jiyai Shin (1) | 22/0/5 | May 3, 2010 | June 20, 2010 | 7 |
2 | Lorena Ochoa | 25/5/8 | April 23, 2007 | May 2, 2010 | 158 |
1 | Annika Sorenstam | 35/4/11 | February 20, 2006 | April 22, 2007 | 61 |
History of the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings Number One Position
Lorena Ochoa | 158 weeks |
Jin Young Ko | 152 weeks |
Yani Tseng | 109 weeks |
Inbee Park | 106 weeks |
Lydia Ko | 105 weeks |
Annika Sorenstam | 61 weeks |
Nelly Korda | 31 weeks |
Stacy Lewis | 25 weeks |
Jiyai Shin | 25 weeks |
Shanshan Feng | 23 weeks |
Ariya Jutanugarn | 23 weeks |
Sung Hyun Park | 20 weeks |
So Yeon Ryu | 19 weeks |
Atthaya Thitikul | 2 weeks |