Ko Jin-young drops to No. 4 in women's golf rankings; No S. Korean in top 3 for 1st time in 5 yrs

▲ Ko Jin-young of South Korea tees off on the 11th hole during the second round of the Pelican Women's Championship at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, on Nov. 12, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Park Min-ji of South Korea celebrates her victory at the SK Shieldus·SK Telecom Championship on the Korea LPGA Tour at Lavie Est Belle Country Club in Chuncheon, 75 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on Nov. 13, 2022, in this photo provided by the KLPGA Tour. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

golf-rankings

Ko Jin-young drops to No. 4 in women's golf rankings; No S. Korean in top 3 for 1st time in 5 yrs

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- For the first time since March 2017, there is no South Korean player inside the top three in the women's world golf rankings.

The top-ranked South Korean player, Ko Jin-young, slipped two notches to No. 4 in the latest rankings unveiled Monday (U.S. local time). Two weeks ago, she dropped from the top spot for the first time in nine months. She had not been outside the top three since 2019.

Hampered by a wrist injury, Ko missed three cuts out of her past four LPGA tournaments and withdrew from the other.

The last time South Korea did not have a top-three player in women's golf was March 13, 2017, when Chun In-gee was the highest-ranked player from the country at No. 4.

Ko is one of four South Korean players to win an LPGA event this year. But the country hasn't had a champion in the past 15 tournaments, with Chun being the most recent winner in June.

This is the longest LPGA winless drought for South Korea since a 17-tournament streak from October 2013 to June 2014.

Chun (No. 8) and Kim Hyo-joo (No. 9) are the two other South Koreans in the top 10.

Park Min-ji, who captured her sixth Korea LPGA tournament of 2022 and clinched her second consecutive money title over the weekend, jumped six spots to a new career-high No. 12.

Nelly Korda of the United States climbed three places to return to No. 1 for the first time since Jan. 24 this year, on the strength of her win at the Pelican Women's Championship last week. Thai rookie sensation Atthaya Thitikul fell to No. 2, as her reign at the top ended after two weeks. Korean-born Kiwi Lydia Ko stayed at No. 3.

The 2022 LPGA season will draw to a conclusion this week with the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, where the top 60 players in the Race to the CME Globe points standings will compete for US$2 million, the largest winner's share in women's golf history.

Ko is the two-time defending champion and will be one of 11 South Koreans in the field.

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