Korda's Reign Ends... Thitikul Takes Over as World No. 1

Nelly Korda (USA) has stepped down from the world No. 1 ranking after 72 weeks.

In the world rankings announced on the 4th (local time), she received 9.96 points, yielding the top spot to Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), who earned 10.12 points. This marks the first time Korda has relinquished the No. 1 position in 72 weeks, since March 25 last year. Last year, she tied the LPGA Tour record by winning the first five events of the season and claimed a total of seven victories, including the major Chevron Championship.

However, this season, she has struggled to capture a trophy. Out of 13 tournaments, she finished second in two events and placed in the top 10 in five others. In the AIG Women's Open, the final major of the season that concluded the previous day, she finished in a disappointing tie for 36th place.

In contrast, Thitikul has consistently delivered strong performances this season, recording eight top-10 finishes, including one victory, in 14 tournaments. Notably, in her last seven events, she has achieved one win and three top-five finishes. Thitikul has returned to the world No. 1 spot for the first time in approximately two years and nine months, since November 2022.

While Lydia Ko (New Zealand) held onto third place, Australian-Korean Lee Minji climbed one spot to fourth, overtaking Yin Ruoning (China). Yamashita Miyu (Japan), who won the AIG Women's Open, soared nine places from 15th last week to sixth. Among Korean players, Kim Hyojoo is ranked eighth, Yoo Hae-ran ninth, Ko Jin-young sixteenth, and Choi Hyejin twenty-third. Kim Arim, who tied for fourth at the AIG Women's Open, jumped twelve spots to twenty-eighth. Bae Sohyun, winner of the Aurora World Ladies Championship on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, climbed ten places to eighty-first.

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