Lilia Vu's return to world No. 1 for the third time this season highlights the Moves of the Week. Vu etched her name on a trophy for the fourth time this year after carding a final-round 66 at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican to overtake Ruoning Yin at the top of the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings. The American's second major title catapulted her to the highest ranking she had ever held in her young career, and she is the first American since Juli Inkster in 1999 to win two major championships in a single season.
The two-time major winner has earned just over $3,200,000, joining Allisen Corpuz, who has also surpassed $3 million in earnings this season. She now leads the Rolex Player of the Year race by 27 points and is just under 96 points behind Celine Boutier in the Race to the CME Globe.
Stephanie Kyriacou Climbs Up 16 Spots
Stephanie Kyriacou made the second most impactful move up the Rolex Rankings, jumping up 16 spots to No. 78 in the world with a tie for fifth at Pelican Golf Club, her third top-10 this season. This finish is her second-best result on Tour, with her first being a tie for fourth that came earlier this year at the Dana Open.
Kyriacou's move in the Rolex Rankings may have been impressive, but her move in the Race to the CME Globe standings was more significant as the Aussie jumped from No. 71 to No. 56 and earned a spot in the field at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. The LPGA Tour sophomore has made 16 cuts in 20 starts this season, earning two top-10 performances in addition to her top five in Florida, tying for fourth at the Dana Open and finishing tied for tenth at the Mizuho Americas Open.
The Australian has competed on the LPGA Tour for only two seasons and has earned five career top-10 finishes with $981,200 in career earnings. But her success last week could be a breakthrough moment that propels her up a couple of notches, one that could see her eventually enter the winner's circle.
Alison Lee Continues to Climb in Rolex Rankings
Alison Lee came up just short in Belleair, Fla., missing out on her first LPGA Tour win after finishing three shots behind four-time Tour winner Vu in a tie for second with Azhara Munoz, jumping eight spots in the Rolex Rankings from No. 35 to No. 27, the highest ranking of her career since May of 2016.
Lee has competed on the LPGA Tour since 2015 and has had 20 career top-10 finishes in her nine-year career. The UCLA alum has played solidly the past few weeks leading up to the CME Group Tour Championship. The LPGA Tour veteran also finished runner-up at the BMW Ladies Championship after losing in a playoff to Minjee Lee and earned her first Ladies European Tour victory at the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – Riyadh in October.
"I feel really good. I am hitting the ball really great. Hitting a lot of good irons, making some really good putts. I feel like that's obviously the key," said the California native. "I do feel really confident. I do. I feel really comfortable over the ball. It’s kind of cliche to say, but I'm having fun. I'm playing more confidently, playing more aggressively, not playing from a nervous standpoint or worried position I guess."
With two runner-up finishes and two additional top-10 results, Lee moved from 36th to 26th in the Race to the CME Globe standings. She also ranks 26th on the Official Money List with $966,998 earned this season, only $33,003 shy of passing the $1 million mark in season earnings for the first time in her career.
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