LPGA Tour
Nelly Korda's reign as World No. 1 comes to an end … for the moment
Michael Reaves
The focus was on Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang vying for victory at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio this past weekend, but there was another story happening a little lower on the leader board. For a moment, broadcasters took the focus away from Ko and Kang trading the top spot—with Ko ultimately coming out on top—to mention that Nelly Korda needed to finish solo 18th to retain the top spot in the Rolex World Ranking.
Korda ultimately finished T-20. And on Monday after the tournament, the new World Ranking indeed showed Korda had slide from No. 1 to No. 2, ending her 12-week streak in the top spot.
In Korda's place jumped Jin Young Ko, who battled Korda into the last round of the last tournament for LPGA Player of the Year in 2021 before pulling out the award with a victory at the CEM Group Tour Championship. The 26-year-old South Korean did not play the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, nor did she play the first event of the 2022 LPGA season, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Suffice it to say, Ko is very familiar with being ranked No. 1: She's spent 114 weeks there from 2019-2021.
Though Korda’s time as No. 1 is over for the moment, she has held the top ranking for 29 total weeks, longer than any other American woman since rankings began in 2006. And given how close the two are in the latest ranking (Ko leads a 9.51 points with Korda at 9.48 and No. 3 Lydia Ko at 6.54), you can believe this isn’t likely going to be the only time they trade the No. 1 spot this season.