Ko Jin-young (Herald DB)
South Korean LPGA star Ko Jin-young has tied the record for most weeks spent at No. 1 in the women's world rankings.
The LPGA announced Monday that this week marks Ko's 158th week at the top of the rankings, tying the record set by Lorena Ochoa from 2007 to 2010.
Ko first rose to No. 1 in April 2019 and has had five different stints atop the rankings. She spent 100 consecutive weeks at the top from July 2019 to June 2021.
She fell off the top in November last year while dealing with a wrist injury, and opened this year at No. 5. But on the strength of two LPGA victories, in March and then in May, Ko reclaimed her No. 1 ranking on May 22.
The world rankings were frozen for nine weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to May 2020, but the LPGA Tour counted that period toward Ko's total.
Ko, a 15-time LPGA winner with two major titles, will look to break Ochoa's record this week at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, the second major tournament of 2023.
Ko currently has an average ranking point of 8.28, with Nelly Korda of the United States trailing her at 7.60. Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who was No. 1 at the start of this year, is now No. 3 at 7.35 points.
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. (Yonhap)
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