Reigning Olympic gold medalist Nelly Korda has continued to solidify her place at the top of both the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and Olympic Golf Rankings, as she has collected five straight victories in her last five starts on the LPGA Tour.
Korda began her run with a playoff win over Lydia Ko in her hometown of Bradenton, Florida, at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Bradenton Country Club, and after a seven-week break from competition, picked up another title at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, this time winning in a one-hole playoff over Ryann O’Toole at Palos Verdes Golf Club in California.
She won again the next week at the Ford Championship presented by KCC after carding a final-round 65 in dreary conditions at Seville Golf and Country Club in Gilbert, Arizona, and then defeated Leona Maguire 4 and 3 in the championship match at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards, her 12th career LPGA Tour title.
Korda went on to capture her second major title last week at The Chevron Championship, winning by two shots over Maja Stark at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. With the win, the 25-year-old became just the third player since 1978 to win five straight tournaments on the LPGA Tour, joining Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam, and was the first player since herself in 2021 to win a major championship and the event before.
Korda is one of four Americans currently ranked inside the top 15 of the Olympic Golf Ranking. Lilia Vu, who won four times during the 2023 season, including two major championships, has been dealing with a back injury this year but has still managed to remain second in the standings.
Last year’s CPKC Women’s Open champion, Megan Khang, is sitting at 13th in the Olympic Golf Ranking with her good friend and UCLA alum Alison Lee right behind her in the 14th position. Khang has earned three top-15 results so far this year, the best of which is a solo third that came at the LPGA Drive On Championship, while Lee has recorded two top-10 finishes, tying for third at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship and tying for eighth at the Ford Championship presented by KCC.
But the United States isn’t the only country with more than two representatives inside the top 15 of the Rolex Rankings.
The Republic of Korea has had plenty of success in previous Olympic Games, as Inbee Park took home the gold medal in 2016 in Rio. As of April 23, Jin Young Ko and Hyo Joo Kim are sitting at seventh and 10th, respectively, in the Olympic Golf Ranking, while Amy Yang is ranked 15th.
Ko has played in just three events this year after a two-win season in 2023, finishing T20, T8 and then missing the cut in the three tournaments in which she has competed in 2024. Kim has recorded two top-10 finishes in six starts this season, tying for fifth at the Honda LPGA Thailand and tying for eighth at the Ford Championship presented by KCC in March. She picked up her sixth career LPGA Tour victory last fall at The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America.
Yang won the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in November 2023 at Tiburón Golf Club after recording a four-day total of 27-under. It’s been a slow start to the 2024 LPGA Tour season for the 34-year-old, whose best finish this year is a tie for 22nd that came at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
While there hasn’t been any substantially significant movement in the Olympic Golf Ranking in recent weeks, Stark did move ahead of fellow Swede Linn Grant in the standings after her runner-up finish at The Chevron Championship. The 24-year-old was ranked 26th in the Olympic Golf Ranking as of April 15, while Grant was in 21st. But after her solid showing at The Club at the Carlton Woods, Stark is now ranked 22nd, one spot ahead of Grant, who is currently ranked 23rd.
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