Lydia Ko Rises to World No. 2... Closing in on No. 1 Nelly Korda

3 Korean Players in Top 10
Ko Jin-young 4th · Jeon In-ji 8th · Kim Hyo-joo 9th

Lydia Ko (left) and Mr. Jung Joon, who will be married in December. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seohee Lee] Lydia Ko (New Zealand), who swept the major categories such as Player of the Year, Money Leader, Scoring Average, and Most Wins in the 2022 season of the U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, has risen to No. 2 in the women's golf world rankings.

After winning the final event of the 2022 LPGA Tour season, the CME Group Tour Championship, held in Naples, Florida, on the 21st, Lydia Ko moved up one spot from 3rd place last week to 2nd place in the world rankings as of the 21st.

Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), who was in 2nd place, dropped to 3rd, while Nelly Korda (USA) maintained her No. 1 position.

If Lydia Ko had won the CME Group Tour Championship and Korda had finished 21st or lower, Ko could have risen to No. 1. However, Korda finished tied for 10th, retaining her top spot. Lydia Ko's most recent time as world No. 1 was in June 2017, five years and five months ago.

Ko Jin-young (27) is ranked 4th, and Minjee Lee (Australia) is 5th, placing one Korean player and two Korean-American players (Lydia Ko and Minjee Lee) within the top 5 of the world rankings. Within the top 10, Korean players include Jeon In-ji (28) at 8th and Kim Hyo-joo (27) at 9th, making a total of three.

Leona Maguire (Ireland), who finished runner-up at the CME Group Tour Championship, rose from 20th to 11th place.

Park Min-ji (24), active on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, dropped two spots from last week to 14th. She holds the highest ranking among players who are not LPGA Tour members.