The first Rolex Rankings of the year have been released, and while Nelly Korda retained her title as world No. 1, it came with some history this week.
Korda, 23, has now held the world No. 1 ranking for 26 weeks, surpassing two-time major winner Stacy Lewis for the greatest tenure by an American at the top. Lewis held the No. 1 ranking for four weeks in 2013 before reclaiming it after winning the ShopRite LPGA Classic in 2014, where he stayed for 21 weeks.
Since the LPGA hasn’t competed since November, Inbee Park has moved up one spot to No. 4 while Sei Young Kim has dropped to No. 5.
Meanwhile, Lizette Salas rose from 20th to 18th place, Sophia Popov rose from 41st to 39th place, and Yuna Nishimura rose from 43rd to 40th place.
On the other hand, Jeongeun Lee6 dropped two spots to No. 19, Atthaya Thitikul dropped two spots to No. 20, Yealimi Noh dropped two spots to No. 41, and Leona Maguire, who was first among rookies in last year’s CME points race, slipped two spots to No. 42.
The LPGA’s first tournament, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, will take place on Jan. 20, while the Ladies European Tour will begin with the Magical Kenya Ladies Open on Feb. 10.
