Tuesday, November 7, 2017

SUNG HYUN PARK NO. 1


Korean star becomes the first LPGA rookie to reach World No. 1

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Sung Hyun Park, of the Republic of Korea, has risen to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and becomes the first LPGA Tour rookie in the history of the rankings to reach the top position.

Park, 24, moved past So Yeon Ryu, who held the position for the past 19 weeks. She becomes the fourth Korean to sit atop the rankings, joining Ryu, Inbee Park (92 weeks) and Jiyai Shin (25 weeks).

“It is a great honor to me and my family,” said Park from Hainan Island in the People’s Republic of China, where she is competing in this week’s Blue Bay LPGA. “There won't be any changes because of the ranking. I believe my future play is more important than the fact that I moved up in the ranking.”

This honor is yet another highlight in a season where Park clinched the Rookie of the Year award with five events remaining on the schedule. In July, Park became a Rolex First-Time Winner and first-time major champion by capturing the U.S. Women’s Open Championship. She followed that in August with a victory at the CP Women’s Open.

Park has never missed the cut in her 29 career LPGA Tour starts. Since becoming a full-time LPGA member at the start of the 2017 season, she has nine top-10 finishes, including her two victories. She also finished in the top 20 at four of the season’s five majors.


Prior to joining the LPGA Tour, Park was a superstar on the KLPGA. She has 10 career victories on her home country’s tour, including a major win at the 2015 Kia Motors Korea Women's Open. Park is one of Korea’s most popular players, and is known by the nickname “Shut Up and Attack” for her relentless focus and determination on the golf course.

Park will enter the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship on Nov. 16-19 with an opportunity to win Player of the Year honors and could join LPGA legend Nancy Lopez as the only players in LPGA history to win Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Park is also in the running for the Vare Trophy, which is awarded to the player with the season’s low scoring average, as well as the Race to the CME Globe, which awards $1 million in unofficial money to the winner of the season-long points race.

History of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings Number One Position

Player
Age (Y/M/D)
From:
To:
No. Weeks
22
Sung Hyun Park
24/1/15
Nov. 6, 2017
Present
1
21
So Yeon Ryu
26/11/28
June 26, 2017
Nov. 5, 2017
19
20
Ariya Jutanugarn
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

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