Inbee Park has held the top spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings for the last 10 consecutive weeks. However, after she missed the cut at the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the four players immediately behind her all have the opportunity to stake their claim to the title of World No. 1.
For No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn, No. 3 Lexi Thompson and No. 4 Shanshan Feng, it’s simple – win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and move to World No. 1. No. 5 So Yeon Ryu can also dethrone Park with a win, but she needs some additional help.
The following projections show the various paths to World No. 1:
Ariya Jutanugarn (T36 after 36 holes) is projected to reach No. 1 with a win. With a runner-up finish, she is projected to reach No. 1 if Thompson or Feng do not win.
Lexi Thompson (T36 after 36 holes) is projected to reach No. 1 with a win. With a runner-up finish, she is projected to reach No. 1 if Jutanugarn finishes third or worse and if Feng and Ryu do not win.
Shanshan Feng (T54 after 36 holes) is projected to reach No. 1 with a win. She cannot move to No. 1 with any other finish.
So Yeon Ryu (T1 after 36 holes) is projected to reach No. 1 with a win and if Jutanugarn finishes third or worse. She cannot move to No. 1 with any other finish.
Jutanugarn, Feng and Ryu have each already reached No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings. Jutanugarn was World No. 1 from June 12-25, 2017, for a total of two weeks. Feng held the No. 1 ranking for 23 weeks, from Nov. 13, 2017, to April 22, 2018, while Ryu held the spot for 19 weeks, from June 26 to Nov. 5, 2017. Thompson has never reached World No. 1; her best ranking is No. 2, a position she held for eight consecutive weeks from Feb. 26 to April 16, 2018, and for 14 weeks overall. She would be the first American to reach No. 1 since Stacy Lewis held the position in 2014.
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