Women's World Golf Rankings

Last updated

The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by 12 women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA Tour), Ladies European Tour, Ladies Professional Golfers' Association of Japan (LPGA of Japan Tour), Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA of Korea Tour), WPGA Tour of Australasia, Epson Tour, China Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, the Ladies European Tour Access Series, Taiwan LPGA Tour, JLPGA Step Up Tour (JSU), KLPGA Dream Tour (KDT), and Thai LPGA Tour and also by The R&A, which administers the Women's British Open and the United States Golf Association which conducts the U.S. Women's Open.

Contents

The idea of introducing a set of women's rankings similar to the Official World Golf Ranking was developed at the May 2004 World Congress of Women's Golf, and was first planned for 2005, [1] but then put back to 2006.

Calculation of the rankings

The rankings are based on performances on the eight major tours (LPGA, JLPGA, KLPGA, LET, ALPG, Epson Tour, LETAS, CLPGA) over a two-year period. Amateur players are eligible. The system for calculating the rankings is similar to that for the men's Official World Golf Ranking. Players receive points for each good finish on the relevant tours, with the number of points available in each event depending on the strength of the field, as determined by the competitors' existing rankings (when the rankings were introduced rankings were calculated for earlier periods; the first ever set showed notional changes since the previous week). The only exceptions are the five LPGA majors and all Epson Tour, CLPGA and LETAS events which have a fixed-point allocation, presently 100 points for the majors. Rankings are weighted as to the time elapsed over the two years, making the recent results more important.

Original formula

When the rankings were first introduced in February 2006, a player's ranking as calculated in the above description was divided by the number of events played, with a minimum required events of 15 over the previous two years. In addition, players were required to play in a minimum of 15 eligible events over the previous two-year period to be included in the rankings.

Formula revisions

On August 2, 2006, the Rolex Rankings Board and Technical Committee announced following its bi-annual meeting two changes to the ranking formula. [2]

  1. The elimination of the minimum event requirement. Players would no longer be required to participate in 15 qualifying events to be included in the rankings and could be included after playing in as few as one qualifying event. This change would also have the effect of permitting amateurs who had played well in one event to be ranked (e.g., Morgan Pressel, who finished second in the 2005 U.S. Women's Open, or Michelle Wie from age 13).
  2. The introduction of a minimum divisor. Where previously a player's point total was divided by the number of events she played over the previous 104 weeks, now the player's point total would be divided by the greater of (i) the number of events played or (ii) 35. Thus, players with 35 or more events over the previous 104 weeks would continue to use the actual number of events played as the divisor, but players with fewer than 35 events would use 35 as the divisor.

Many commentators saw the latter change as directed at Michelle Wie, who at the time was ranked second in the world despite having competed in only 16 women's professional events in the two-year period. However, the chairman of the Rolex Rankings Technical Committee defended the change as one designed to make the women's rankings more comparable to the Official World Golf Ranking for men, which use a minimum divisor of 40 events.

On April 16, 2007, another modification in the formula was introduced. Instead of points being awarded on an accumulated 104-week rolling period, with the points awarded in the most recent 13-week period carrying a higher value, points began to be reduced in 91 equal decrements following week 13 for the remaining 91 weeks of the two-year Rolex Ranking period rather than the seven equal 13-week decrements previously used. [3] This modification did not have an immediate impact on the rankings.

2019 event table

The events with the highest "Event rating" in 2019 are shown in the following table.

DateEventEvent
ranking
WinnerTour
28 Jul The Evian Championship 100 Ko Jin-young LPGA
7 Apr ANA Inspiration 100 Ko Jin-young LPGA
2 Jun U.S. Women's Open 100 Lee Jeong-eun LPGA
4 Aug AIG Women's British Open 100 Hinako Shibuno LPGA
23 Jun KPMG Women's PGA Championship 100 Hannah Green LPGA
25 Aug Canadian Women's Open 62 Ko Jin-young LPGA
30 Jun Walmart NW Arkansas Championship 62 Park Sung-hyun LPGA
3 Mar HSBC Women's World Championship 62 Park Sung-hyun LPGA
28 Apr Hugel-Air Premia LA Open 62 Minjee Lee LPGA
31 Mar Kia Classic 62 Nasa Hataoka LPGA
24 Mar Bank of Hope Founders Cup 62 Ko Jin-young LPGA
24 Nov CME Group Tour Championship 62 Kim Sei-young LPGA
24 Feb Honda LPGA Thailand 62 Amy Yang LPGA
20 Apr Lotte Championship 56 Brooke Henderson LPGA
5 May LPGA Mediheal Championship 56 Kim Sei-young LPGA
26 May Pure Silk Championship 56 Bronte Law LPGA
27 Oct BMW Ladies Championship 56 Jang Ha-na LPGA
16 Jun Meijer LPGA Classic 50 Brooke Henderson LPGA
3 Nov Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA 50 Nelly Korda LPGA
20 Oct Buick LPGA Shanghai 50 Danielle Kang LPGA
29 Sep Indy Women in Tech Championship 50 M. J. Hur LPGA

Criticisms

When they were introduced the rankings attracted considerable criticism on two grounds. [4] First, it was widely felt that members of the LPGA of Japan Tour were ranked too high, since few of them had competed successfully outside Japan. Second, the minimum of 15 events needed to qualify for a ranking was widely seen as having been selected purely to enable Michelle Wie to be highly ranked because she had played exactly that number in the preceding two years, while every other highly ranked player had played many more events. If the women's rankings used the same system used for the men's rankings – that is a minimum number of events of one but a minimum denominator of 40 to calculate the average points per tournament – Wie would have been just outside the top 10. But under the women's ranking system where only players who had played a minimum number of events were included, if the minimum number of events had been set higher than 15, Wie would not have been ranked at all.

The August 2006 revised formula addressed the second criticism. The technical committee that administers the rankings urged patience with regard to the first criticism, since the continuing "strength of the field" weighting of tournaments may correct the issue without any technical changes being made.

Significance of the rankings

The rankings are used by each of the sponsoring tours to determine eligibility criteria for certain events. For example, 40 of the 144 places in the Women's British Open are currently awarded on the basis of the rankings—10 to LET members and 30 to LPGA members. [5] Four of the 12 places in the European Solheim Cup team are allocated on the basis of the rankings. [6] For the U.S. Solheim Cup team, the top two players on the rankings not already qualified make the team. [7]

Since 2013, the rankings at the end of each LPGA Tour season in odd-numbered years have determined the eight countries that will compete in the following year's International Crown, a LPGA-sponsored team event scheduled in even-numbered years and first held in 2014. More specifically, the countries whose top four players have the highest cumulative rankings are invited to compete. [8] The individual participants from each qualified country are determined by the rankings immediately prior to the ANA Inspiration (known before 2015 as the Kraft Nabisco Championship) in the year of the event. [9]

Current top ten

As of 29 April 2024 [10]

RankChangePlayerCountryPoints
1Steady2.svg Nelly Korda Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 12.30
2Steady2.svg Lilia Vu Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 6.54
3Steady2.svg Céline Boutier Flag of France.svg  France 6.09
4Steady2.svg Yin Ruoning Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 5.58
5Increase2.svg2 Ko Jin-young Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 5.01
6Decrease2.svg1 Brooke Henderson Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 4.76
7Increase2.svg1 Charley Hull Flag of England.svg  England 4.68
8Increase2.svg10 Hannah Green Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 4.66
9Decrease2.svg3 Minjee Lee Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 4.61
10Decrease2.svg1 Lydia Ko Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 4.56

Change column indicates change in rank from previous week.

Notes

World number ones

^Record
*Current No. 1 player as of 29 April 2024 [10]
No.PlayerCountryStart dateEnd dateWeeksTotal weeks
1 Annika Sörenstam Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 21 February 200622 April 20076060
2 Lorena Ochoa Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 23 April 20072 May 2010158^158
3 Jiyai Shin Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 3 May 201020 June 201077
4 Ai Miyazato Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 21 June 201027 June 201011
5 Cristie Kerr Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 28 June 201018 July 201033
Ai Miyazato (2)Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 19 July 201025 July 201012
Jiyai Shin (2)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 26 July 201015 August 2010310
Cristie Kerr (2)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 16 August 201022 August 201014
Ai Miyazato (3)Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 23 August 201024 October 2010911
Cristie Kerr (3)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 25 October 201031 October 201015
Jiyai Shin (3)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 1 November 201013 February 20111525
6 Yani Tseng Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei 14 February 201117 March 2013109109
7 Stacy Lewis Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 18 March 201314 April 201344
8 Inbee Park Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 15 April 20131 June 20145959
Stacy Lewis (2)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 2 June 201426 October 20142125
Inbee Park (2)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 27 October 20141 February 20151473
9 Lydia Ko Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 2 February 201514 June 20151919
Inbee Park (3)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 15 June 201525 October 20151992
Lydia Ko (2)Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 26 October 201511 June 201785104
10 Ariya Jutanugarn Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 12 June 201725 June 201722
11 Ryu So-yeon Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 26 June 20175 November 20171919
12 Park Sung-hyun Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 6 November 201712 November 201711
13 Shanshan Feng Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 13 November 201722 April 20182323
Inbee Park (4)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 23 April 201829 July 201814106
Ariya Jutanugarn (2)Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 30 July 201819 August 201835
Park Sung-hyun (2)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 20 August 201828 October 20181011
Ariya Jutanugarn (3)Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 29 October 20183 March 20191823
Park Sung-hyun (3)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 4 March 20197 April 2019516
14 Ko Jin-young Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 8 April 201930 June 20191212
Park Sung-hyun (4)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 1 July 201928 July 2019420
Ko Jin-young (2)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 29 July 201927 June 2021100112 [lower-alpha 1]
15 Nelly Korda Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 28 June 202124 October 20211717
Ko Jin-young (3)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 25 October 20217 November 20212114
Nelly Korda (2)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 8 November 202130 January 20221229
Ko Jin-young (4)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 31 January 202230 October 202239154
16 Atthaya Thitikul Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 31 October 202213 November 202222
Nelly Korda (3)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 14 November 202227 November 2022231
Lydia Ko (3)Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 28 November 202223 April 202321125
Nelly Korda (4)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 24 April 202321 May 2023435
Ko Jin-young (5)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 22 May 202330 July 20237163^
Nelly Korda (5)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 31 July 202313 August 2023237
17 Lilia Vu Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 14 August 202310 September 202344
18 Yin Ruoning Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 11 September 202324 September 202322
Lilia Vu (2)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 25 September 202329 October 202359
Yin Ruoning (2)Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 30 October 202312 November 202324
Lilia Vu (3)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 13 November 202324 March 20241928
Nelly Korda * (6)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 25 March 2024Present643
  1. The rankings were frozen due to the COVID-19 pandemic from 16 March 2020 to 18 May 2020. (8 weeks)

Total weeks at No. 1

*Current No. 1 player as of 29 April 2024 [10]
RankPlayerCountryWeeksOrderMajors
1 Ko Jin-young Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 163 [lower-alpha 1] 142
2 Lorena Ochoa Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 15822
3 Lydia Ko Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 12592
4 Yani Tseng Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei 10965
5 Inbee Park Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 10687
6 Annika Sörenstam Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 60110
7 Nelly Korda *Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 43152
8 Lilia Vu Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 28172
9 Jiyai Shin Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 2532
Stacy Lewis Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 72
11 Shanshan Feng Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 23131
Ariya Jutanugarn Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 102
13 Park Sung-hyun Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 20122
14 Ryu So-yeon Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 19112
15 Ai Miyazato Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1140
16 Cristie Kerr Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 552
17 Yin Ruoning Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 4181
18 Atthaya Thitikul Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 2160
  1. The rankings were frozen due to the COVID-19 pandemic from 16 March 2020 to 18 May 2020. (8 weeks)

Year end No. 1

*No. 1 player all year
YearPlayerCountry
2006 Annika Sörenstam Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
2007 Lorena Ochoa Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
2008 Lorena Ochoa* (2)Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
2009 Lorena Ochoa* (3)Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
2010 Jiyai Shin Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
2011 Yani Tseng Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei
2012 Yani Tseng* (2)Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei
2013 Inbee Park Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
2014 Inbee Park (2)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
2015 Lydia Ko Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
2016 Lydia Ko* (2)Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
2017 Shanshan Feng Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
2018 Ariya Jutanugarn Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
2019 Ko Jin-young Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
2020 Ko Jin-young* (2)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
2021 Nelly Korda Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
2022 Lydia Ko (3)Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
2023 Lilia Vu Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States

Weeks at No. 1 by country

*Country with the current number one player as of 29 April 2024
RankCountryNo. of
players
No. of
weeks
Players
1Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 5333 [lower-alpha 1] Jiyai Shin, Inbee Park, Ryu So-yeon, Park Sung-hyun, Ko Jin-young
2Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 1158 Lorena Ochoa
3Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 1125 Lydia Ko
4Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei 1109 Yani Tseng
5Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States*4101 Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu
6Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 160 Annika Sörenstam
7Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 227 Shanshan Feng, Yin Ruoning
8Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 225 Ariya Jutanugarn, Atthaya Thitikul
9Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 111 Ai Miyazato
  1. The rankings were frozen due to the COVID-19 pandemic from 16 March 2020 to 18 May 2020. (8 weeks)

Players who have reached No. 1 without having won a major title

PlayersDate of first No. 1 positionEventual first major title
Lorena Ochoa 23 April 2007 2007 Women's British Open
Ai Miyazato 21 June 2010none
Lydia Ko 2 February 2015 2015 Evian Championship
Atthaya Thitikul 31 October 2022none

Year-end world top 10 players

★ indicates player's highest year-end ranking
YearNo. 1No. 2No. 3No. 4No. 5No. 6No. 7No. 8No. 9No. 10
2006 Flag of Sweden.svg A. Sörenstam Flag of Mexico.svg L. Ochoa Flag of Australia (converted).svg K. Webb Flag of the United States.svg C. Kerr Flag of the United States.svg J. Inkster Flag of Japan.svg A. Miyazato Flag of South Korea.svg J. Jang Flag of the United States.svg P. Creamer Flag of Japan.svg S. Oyama Flag of the United States.svg P. Hurst
2007 Flag of Mexico.svg L. Ochoa Flag of Australia (converted).svg K. Webb Flag of Norway.svg S. Pettersen Flag of Sweden.svg A. Sörenstam Flag of the United States.svg P. Creamer Flag of the United States.svg C. Kerr Flag of South Korea.svg J. Shin Flag of the United States.svg J. Inkster Flag of South Korea.svg M.H. Kim Flag of South Korea.svg S.R. Pak
2008 Flag of Mexico.svg L. Ochoa Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Y. Tseng Flag of Sweden.svg A. Sörenstam Flag of the United States.svg P. Creamer Flag of Norway.svg S. Pettersen Flag of South Korea.svg J. Shin Flag of the United States.svg C. Kerr Flag of Sweden.svg H. Alfredsson Flag of the United States.svg A. Stanford Flag of Australia (converted).svg K. Webb
2009 Flag of Mexico.svg L. Ochoa Flag of South Korea.svg J. Shin Flag of Norway.svg S. Pettersen Flag of the United States.svg C. Kerr Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Y. Tseng Flag of Sweden.svg A. Nordqvist Flag of the United States.svg P. Creamer Flag of Japan.svg A. Miyazato Flag of the United States.svg A. Stanford Flag of the United States.svg M. Wie
2010 Flag of South Korea.svg J. Shin Flag of the United States.svg C. Kerr Flag of Norway.svg S. Pettersen Flag of South Korea.svg N.Y. Choi Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Y. Tseng Flag of Japan.svg A. Miyazato Flag of South Korea.svg I.K. Kim Flag of South Korea.svg S.J. Ahn Flag of South Korea.svg S.H. Kim Flag of the United States.svg M. Wie
2011 Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Y. Tseng Flag of Norway.svg S. Pettersen Flag of South Korea.svg N.Y. Choi Flag of the United States.svg C. Kerr Flag of the United States.svg P. Creamer Flag of South Korea.svg S.J. Ahn Flag of South Korea.svg J. Shin Flag of South Korea.svg I.K. Kim Flag of Japan.svg A. Miyazato Flag of the United States.svg S. Lewis
2012 Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Y. Tseng Flag of South Korea.svg N.Y. Choi Flag of the United States.svg S. Lewis Flag of South Korea.svg I. Park Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg S. Feng Flag of Norway.svg S. Pettersen Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Ryu Flag of South Korea.svg J. Shin Flag of Japan.svg A. Miyazato Flag of Japan.svg M. Miyazato
2013 Flag of South Korea.svg I. Park Flag of Norway.svg S. Pettersen Flag of the United States.svg S. Lewis Flag of New Zealand.svg L. Ko Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Ryu Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg S. Feng Flag of South Korea.svg N.Y. Choi Flag of Australia (converted).svg K. Webb Flag of the United States.svg L. Thompson Flag of South Korea.svg I.K. Kim
2014 Flag of South Korea.svg I. Park Flag of New Zealand.svg L. Ko Flag of the United States.svg S. Lewis Flag of Norway.svg S. Pettersen Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg S. Feng Flag of the United States.svg M. Wie Flag of South Korea.svg H.J. Kim Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Ryu Flag of Australia (converted).svg K. Webb Flag of the United States.svg L. Thompson
2015 Flag of New Zealand.svg L. Ko Flag of South Korea.svg I. Park Flag of the United States.svg S. Lewis Flag of the United States.svg L. Thompson Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Ryu Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg S. Feng Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Kim Flag of South Korea.svg A. Yang Flag of South Korea.svg H.J. Kim Flag of South Korea.svg I.G. Chun
2016 Flag of New Zealand.svg L. Ko Flag of Thailand.svg A. Jutanugarn Flag of South Korea.svg I.G. Chun Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg S. Feng Flag of the United States.svg L. Thompson Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Kim Flag of South Korea.svg H.N. Jang Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg B. Henderson Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Ryu Flag of South Korea.svg S.H. Park
2017 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg S. Feng Flag of South Korea.svg S.H. Park Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Ryu Flag of the United States.svg L. Thompson Flag of South Korea.svg I.G. Chun Flag of Thailand.svg A. Jutanugarn Flag of Sweden.svg A. Nordqvist Flag of South Korea.svg I.K. Kim Flag of New Zealand.svg L. Ko Flag of the United States.svg C. Kerr
2018 Flag of Thailand.svg A. Jutanugarn Flag of South Korea.svg S.H. Park Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Ryu Flag of South Korea.svg I. Park Flag of the United States.svg L. Thompson Flag of Australia (converted).svg M. Lee Flag of Japan.svg N. Hataoka Flag of England.svg G. Hall Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg B. Henderson Flag of South Korea.svg J.Y. Ko
2019 Flag of South Korea.svg J.Y. Ko Flag of South Korea.svg S.H. Park Flag of the United States.svg N. Korda Flag of the United States.svg D. Kang Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Kim Flag of Japan.svg N. Hataoka Flag of South Korea.svg J.E. Lee Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg B. Henderson Flag of Australia (converted).svg M. Lee Flag of the United States.svg L. Thompson
2020 Flag of South Korea.svg J.Y. Ko Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Kim Flag of South Korea.svg I. Park Flag of the United States.svg N. Korda Flag of the United States.svg D. Kang Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg B. Henderson Flag of Japan.svg N. Hataoka Flag of Australia (converted).svg M. Lee Flag of South Korea.svg H.J. Kim Flag of South Korea.svg S.H. Park
2021 Flag of the United States.svg N. Korda Flag of South Korea.svg J.Y. Ko Flag of New Zealand.svg L. Ko Flag of South Korea.svg S.Y. Kim Flag of South Korea.svg I. Park Flag of Japan.svg N. Hataoka Flag of Australia (converted).svg M. Lee Flag of the Philippines.svg Y. Saso Flag of South Korea.svg H.J. Kim Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg B. Henderson
2022 Flag of New Zealand.svg L. Ko Flag of the United States.svg N. Korda Flag of Thailand.svg A. Thitikul Flag of Australia (converted).svg M. Lee Flag of South Korea.svg J.Y. Ko Flag of the United States.svg L. Thompson Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg B. Henderson Flag of South Korea.svg I.G. Chun Flag of South Korea.svg H.J. Kim Flag of Japan.svg N. Hataoka
2023 Flag of the United States.svg L. Vu Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg R. Yin Flag of France.svg C. Boutier Flag of Australia (converted).svg M. Lee Flag of the United States.svg N. Korda Flag of South Korea.svg J.Y. Ko Flag of South Korea.svg H.J. Kim Flag of England.svg C. Hull Flag of Thailand.svg A. Thitikul Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg X. Lin

Historical rankings

Annika Sörenstam of Sweden topped the first set of rankings, which was released on Tuesday 21 February 2006. Paula Creamer (United States); Michelle Wie (United States); Yuri Fudoh (Japan); and Cristie Kerr (United States) took the other places in the top 5. The top one hundred players in the initial rankings came from the following countries:

Breakdown by nationality

A breakdown of the year-end top-100 by nationality.

Country20
23
20
22
20
21
20
20
20
19
20
18
20
17
20
16
20
15
20
14
20
13
20
12
20
11
20
10
20
09
20
08
20
07
20
06
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 323130354039414039394138373635313226
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 212015121411101011141718222220212324
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 141822232024222221181917151822232023
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 6553343321311
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 443212212325434746
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 434433532313355444
Flag of England.svg  England 343544323311232232
Flag of France.svg  France 221111123211323
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 21333222221121221
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 21122223233322
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 12111111111
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 11321222222221
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1111111211
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 111111111111
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 11111111111
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 111
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 1111111112131
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1111111
Flag of India.svg  India 111
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 122212111
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 111
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 1
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 111
Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei 122223232433433
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 111111111111
Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay 11111
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 111
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 121111
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 111
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 1
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 1

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annika Sörenstam</span> Swedish professional golfer

Annika Charlotta Sörenstam is a Swedish professional golfer. She is regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 96 international professional tournaments, making her the female golfer with the most wins to her name. She has won 72 official LPGA tournaments including ten majors and 24 other tournaments internationally. After turning 50, she came back from her retirement and added a win in the 2021 U.S. Senior Women's Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Wie West</span> American professional golfer

Michelle Sung Wie West is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the youngest to qualify for an LPGA Tour event. She turned professional shortly before her 16th birthday in 2005, accompanied by an enormous amount of publicity and endorsements. She won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year in 2004 and her first and only major at the 2014 U.S. Women's Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's major golf championships</span> Championships in womens major golf

Women's golf has a set of major championships, A series of tournaments designated to be of a higher status than other tournaments, five tournaments are currently designated as 'majors' in women's golf by the LPGA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solheim Cup</span> Womens golf competition between the USA and Europe

The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force behind its creation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Creamer</span> American golfer

Paula Creamer is an American professional golfer on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. As a professional, she has won 12 tournaments, including 10 LPGA Tour events. Creamer has been as high as number 2 in the Women's World Golf Rankings. She was the 2010 U.S. Women's Open champion. As of the end of the 2023 season, Creamer was 19th on the all-time LPGA career money list with earnings of $12,161,187.

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzann Pettersen</span> Norwegian professional golfer

Suzann Pettersen is a retired Norwegian professional golfer. She played mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, and was also a member of the Ladies European Tour. Her career best world ranking was second and she held that position several times, most recently from August 2011 until February 2012. She retired on 15 September 2019 after holing the winning putt for the European team at the 2019 Solheim Cup, notwithstanding that she had been away from golf for almost 20 months on maternity leave prior to the event.

The 2006 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world, which took place from February through December 2006. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States-based Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). In 2006, prize money on the LPGA Tour exceeded US$50 million for the first time in the history of the LPGA Tour.

The 2005 LPGA Tour was a series of golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world which took place from February through December 2005. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States-based Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). Total prize money for all tournaments was $45,100,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yani Tseng</span> Taiwanese professional golfer

Yani Tseng is a Taiwanese professional golfer playing on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She is the youngest player ever, male or female, to win five major championships and was ranked number 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings for 109 consecutive weeks from 2011 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inbee Park</span> South Korean professional golfer

Inbee Park is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. She has been the number one ranked player in the Women's World Golf Rankings for four separate runs: April 2013 to June 2014, October 2014 to February 2015, June 2015 to October 2015, and from April to July 2018.

The 2011 Solheim Cup was the 12th Solheim Cup matches, held 23–25 September in Ireland at Killeen Castle in County Meath, northwest of Dublin. The biennial matches are a three-day contest for professional female golfers, between teams of 12 top players from the United States and Europe. Entering the 2011 matches, the U.S. had won the three recent competitions, with Europe's last victory coming eight years earlier in 2003 in Sweden.

The 2013 Solheim Cup was the 13th edition of the Solheim Cup matches, held on August 16–18 at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colorado, southeast of Denver. The Solheim Cup is a biennial team competition between the top women professional golfers from the United States and from Europe. Similar to the Ryder Cup, it is a three-day match play event between teams of twelve players. Europe won the matches by a score of 18–10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ko Jin-young</span> South Korean golfer

Ko Jin-young, also known as Jin Young Ko, is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. By age 22 years, she had won 10 times on the LPGA of Korea Tour, was second at the 2015 Ricoh Women's British Open, and had won the 2017 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Solheim Cup</span> 15th edition of the Solheim Cup

The 2017 Solheim Cup was the 15th edition of the Solheim Cup matches, held August 18–20 at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa. The Solheim Cup is a biennial team competition between the top women professional golfers from Europe and the United States. It is a three-day match play event between teams of twelve players with a similar format to the Ryder Cup. Juli Inkster captained the U.S. team for the second time and Annika Sörenstam captained the European team for the first time.

The China LPGA Tour is a professional golf tour for women organized by the China Ladies Professional Golfers' Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelly Korda</span> American professional golfer (born 1998)

Nelly Korda is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour, where she has won 13 times and reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Korda won the Olympic gold medal at the women's individual golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She represented the United States at the 2019 Solheim Cup, 2021 Solheim Cup and 2023 Solheim Cup.

Lindsey Kathryn Weaver-Wright is an American professional golfer and LPGA Tour member. She shot a 59 during the 2012 Ping Junior Interclub match to become the second female golfer in history to do so, first being Annika Sörenstam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Wildcats women's golf</span> College golf team

The Arizona Wildcats women's golf is considered one of the best in all of women's collegiate golf, dating back to their first season in 1979. Since they have won three national championships in 1996, 2000, and 2018. The Wildcat Women have also had four individual national champions with Susan Slaughter in (1990), Annika Sörenstam in (1991), Marisa Baena in (1996) and Jenna Daniels in (2000).

References

  1. "Women's World Rankings to begin in 2005". Golf Today. 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
  2. "Two modifications announced for Rolex Rankings". LPGA. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 3 August 2006.
  3. "Modification Announced to Rolex Rankings Calculations". LPGA. 9 April 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
  4. Kelley, Brent (21 February 2006). "First Women's World Golf Rankings Stir Up Controversy". about.com. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  5. "Entry Form, 2011 Ricoh Women's British Open: Rules and Conditions" (PDF). Ladies' Golf Union . Retrieved 29 July 2011. See especially "7. Exemptions from Pre-Qualifying and Final Qualifying", pages 2–3.
  6. "Solheim selection process changes". BBC Sport. 18 April 2006. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  7. "U.S. Team". Solheim Cup. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  8. "32 Players, 8 Countries, 1 Crown: LPGA Unveils the International Crown" (Press release). LPGA. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  9. "LPGA International Crown Celebrates "Year from Here" Event" (Press release). LPGA. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 "Rolex Rankings". Rolex Rankings. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  11. Sörenstam, Annika (February 2009). "Annika's Blog February 2009". Archived from the original on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  12. "Ochoa removed from women's golf rankings". UPI.com. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.