Eun-Hee Ji made the Rolex Rankings Move of the Week by battling through harsh weather conditions in Chinese Taipei, ending an eight-year winless drought, to earn her third career LPGA title at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship presented by CTBC. She climbed 30 spots from No. 72 to No. 42, her highest ranking since October of 2016.
Ji had gone 203 starts since her last LPGA victory, which came at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open Championship. Dale Eggeling holds the record for the longest stretch between wins. Eggeling went 14 years, 11 months, 4 days between her victories at the 1980 Boston Five Classic and 1995 Oldsmobile Classic
With her victory, Ji earned $330,000 and nearly doubled her 2017 earnings, which moved up to No. 25 on the LPGA official money list.
This week, So Yeon Ryu enters her 18th consecutive week atop the Rolex Rankings in which she holds a narrow lead over Sung Hyun Park for World No. 1. Ryu reached the No. 1 spot in June 2017 following her victory at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.
#CMEFINALSTRETCH
With her victory in Chinese Taipei, Eun-Hee Ji climbed 27 spots to No. 29 in the Race to the CME Globe points standing. She sits just 863 points behind Lydia Ko, who moved into the 12th position following her runner-up finish. With the change in reset points for 2017, the top 12 heading into Naples will now have a mathematical chance of winning the $1 million dollar bonus.
With only four more chances for players to earn valuable points, a good finish in Malaysia could make a big difference in earning a trip to Naples, Fla. – and a chance for $1 million.
Lexi Thompson currently leads the standing with 3,266 points, followed by So Yeon Ryu with 2,966 and Sung Hyun Park with 2,919. Brooke Henderson and In Gee Chun round out the top five through the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship. With her 8th place finish in Chinese Taipei, Cristie Kerr moved up four spots to No. 7 and is only 392 points out of fifth place.
Ariya Jutanugarn (6) Moriya Jutanugarn (8), Stacy Lewis (9), In-Kyung Kim (10), and Anna Nordqvist (11) round out the top-12.
In 2017, the reset points for the Race to the CME Globe have been modified with the top five finishers entering Naples in control of their destiny at the CME Group Tour Championship. With a win in Naples, they will also win the season-long Race to the CME Globe.
Race to the CME Globe Standing>>
Notable Standings Updates
- Lexi Thompson leads the Tour in scoring average at 69.125, slightly ahead of Sung Hyun Park for the season-ending Vare Trophy.
- Park clinched Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors during the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship.
- World No. 1, So Yeon Ryu leads Lexi Thompson and Sung Hyun Park in the Rolex Player of the Year standings and sits fifth in the Vare Trophy race.