No Korean inside top 10 in women's golf rankings for 1st time in 19 years
Ko Jin-young, Korean golf player, watches her shot from the sixth tee during the final round of the JM Eagle LA Championship at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif., U.S., Sunday. Yonhap
For the first time in nearly two decades, Korea does not have a player inside the top 10 in the women's world golf rankings.
Ryu Hae-ran slipped three spots from No. 9 to No. 12 in the latest rankings released Tuesday, while Ko Jin-young rose two places to No. 11 as the top-ranked Korean player at the moment.
The women's rankings were first released in February 2006. The last time Korea, a women's golf powerhouse for many years, did not have a top-10 player was the second week of June 2006.
Historically, Korea has produced the most No. 1 players with five, most recently Ko between 2019 and 2023. Ko holds the record for most weeks spent at No. 1 with 163.
In the current rankings, Korea has the most players in the top 100 with 28.
Korean players have not been as dominant on the LPGA Tour as in years past.
In 2021, Korean players were shut out at LPGA major tournaments for the first time since 2010, and came up empty-handed again in 2023.
In 2024, Ryu was one of only three Korean winners on the tour, alongside Amy Yang and Kim A-lim.
For this year, Kim won the season opener in February, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and Kim Hyo-joo earned her seventh career title in March at the Ford Championship.