The Move of the Week belongs to Lydia Ko, who jumped three spots in the world rankings with her victory at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Her 20th career Tour title moved her from No. 12 to No. 9 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
The two-time major winner previously held the top spot in the world during three stretches throughout her career, first at 19 weeks in 2015, then for another 85 weeks between 2015 and 2017 and yet again for 21 weeks between 2022 and 2023. Ko lost the No. 1 spot in April of last year and had dropped down to No. 12 ahead of her victory at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. It was her lowest ranking since October 2013, before she joined the Tour, when she was 19th in the Rolex Rankings.
Ko etched her name in history with her win in Orlando, Fla. as she became the seventh woman in LPGA Tour history to reach 20 wins before age 27 alongside Nancy Lopez, Karrie Webb, Se Ri Pak, Mickey Wright, Lorena Ochoa and Kathy Whitworth.
Cheyenne Knight Climbs Six Spots
Cheyenne Knight finished tied for fourth at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions with a final-round 69 to move up six spots to No. 56 in the world. The two-time LPGA Tour winner finished the 2023 season with five total top-10 finishes, including her second LPGA Tour title at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational alongside playing partner Elizabeth Szokol.
In five seasons, Knight has accumulated 13 career top-10 results in addition to her two wins and has made over $2 million in earnings. Watch for more top performances in 2024 from the young American as it’s only a matter of time before she captures her third career win on the LPGA Tour.
2024 Race to the CME Globe is Underway
In the opening event of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, Ko’s victory at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions catapulted her to the top of the Race to the CME Globe standings as she claimed the first 500 points awarded. Alexa Pano, a 2023 LPGA Tour rookie, finished runner-up last week to earn 320 points and sits in second place in the standings. Canadian Brooke Henderson is in third place with 230 points, and Ally Ewing, Cheyenne Knight and Ayaka Furue round out the top five with 148.333 points each.
The Race to the CME Globe is a season-long points competition with LPGA Tour Members accumulating points in every official LPGA event to qualify for the season-ending tournament, the CME Group Tour Championship, and have a shot at a record-breaking $4 million first-place prize.
)
)
)
)
