▲ In this Getty Images photo, Ko Jin-young of South Korea celebrates with the champion's trophy after winning the Cognizant Founders Cup on the LPGA Tour at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Getty Images photo, Ko Jin-young of South Korea (C) is doused with water and champagne after winning the Cognizant Founders Cup on the LPGA Tour at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Associated Press photo, Ko Jin-young of South Korea tees off on the fifth hole during the final round of the Cognizant Founders Cup on the LPGA Tour at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2023. (Yonhap)

golf-world rankings

Ko Jin-young back as No. 1 in women's golf rankings

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- On the strength of her recent LPGA victory, South Korean star Ko Jin-young has returned to the top of the women's golf rankings.

Ko climbed a spot to No. 1 in the latest rankings announced Monday (U.S. time), reclaiming the place she had last occupied on Oct. 24, 2022.

Ko fell to as low as No. 5 in February this year but has since won twice on the LPGA Tour to claw her way back to the top spot.

The women's world rankings evaluate players' performance over a rolling two-year period weighted in favor of the current year, with an emphasis placed on the most recent 13 weeks.

Though the LPGA Tour didn't have a tournament last week, Ko improved to 8.26 average ranking points, nudging past Nelly Korda of the United States (8.25 points) for the top spot.

Ko first grabbed the No. 1 ranking in April 2019.

She struggled through a wrist injury in the second half of 2022, which led to the drop in the rankings. She has successfully bounced back in 2023 by winning the HSBC Women's World Championship in March and the Cognizant Founders Cup earlier this month.

Ko leads the LPGA Tour in scoring average, and ranks second behind Lilia Vu of the U.S. in both money and Player of the Year points.

Kim Hyo-joo is the one other South Korean inside the top 10 in the rankings, as she stayed at No. 10 for the third consecutive week.

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