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.
Through
Nov. 6, Park leads the LPGA in Official Money with $2,161,005. She is
also in the top 10 in Scoring Average (second), Rolex Player of the Year
(second), Race to the CME Globe (third), Birdies (fifth), Greens in
Regulation (seventh) and Driving Distance Average (ninth). She became
the fastest player in LPGA history to reach $2 million in career
earnings at 7 months, 13 days (19 starts; 2017 LPGA KEB Hana Bank
Championship) and the fastest to reach $1 million following her U.S.
Women’s Open victory at 4 months, 14 days (14 events).
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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