The Move of the Week belongs to Rose Zhang, who jumped 16 spots in the world rankings with her victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup. She moved from No. 22 to No. 6 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, marking the American’s first time in the top 10.
The 20-year-old clinched her second LPGA Tour win on Sunday at Upper Montclair Country Club, defeating Madelene Sagstrom by two strokes to secure her first victory this season in Clifton, N.J. The victory helped her ultimately crack the top 10 in the Rolex Rankings for the first time in her career, and Zhang is well on her way to representing the United States at the Olympics for the first time in her career.
"I haven't really thought about it too much, but I definitely knew that this year I was on the cusp of entering Olympic territory," said the 20-year-old American. "I think in the first couple events coming out I put a lot of pressure on myself to be able to play well, and partially the reason is because I didn't want to miss out on the Olympics.
"I've been watching it since I was five years old, so to be able to kind of near an inch towards that definitely was a goal in previous events. This event I kind of took it slow and didn't really think about it much. It is a cool thing that I would love to be a part of."
Zhang leaped into the top 75 of the Rolex Rankings when she won in her first professional start at the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open and was ranked in the top 25 after the 2023 CME Group Tour Championship. With her victory last week, Zhang jumped from 11th in the U.S. Solheim Cup Team standings to fifth. She is currently ranked fifth in the Rolex Player of the Year race, seventh in the Race to the CME Globe standings (765.750 points), fourth in scoring average (70.130) and seventh on the Official Money List with $608,097 in season earnings.
Madelene Sagstrom Moves Up 28 Spots
Madelene Sagstrom made the second most impactful move in the Rolex Rankings, jumping up 28 spots to No. 34 in the world after falling just short of her second LPGA Tour victory at Upper Montclair Country Club. Sagstrom played solid in Clifton, N.J., finishing the week at 22-under total and just two shots shy of a win.
The Swede has competed on the LPGA Tour since 2017 and has amassed 20 career top-10 finishes, including her solo victory at the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. The 31-year-old put together four impressive rounds of 65-66-66-69 at the Cognizant Founders Cup, and it's definitely a confidence booster for Sagstrom as she looks to represent Sweden for a second time at the Paris Olympics, having first done so in Tokyo, where she finished T20.
"It's a sign that I'm doing good things. Whatever we're working on is working, and it's been a lot of improvements," said the Olympian. "My driving has been fantastic this week, which I've struggled a little bit with before. Probably a bit of contact on that.
"I hit some beautiful iron shots and was happy with how Shane and I were making decisions. It was really a lot of good things that I've been working on, and I can see the result. It's not all there, which it never will be. It was good enough to be up there fighting for it, which means it was a good week on the golf course."
But her success last week could be the breakthrough moment that propels her up a couple of notches in the standings, and what a perfect time for her game to be trending with four majors, the Olympics and the Solheim Cup on the horizon.
Gabriela Ruffels Back on Top in the Rookie of the Year Race
Gabriela Ruffels takes the lead in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award point standings after her solo third showing at the Cognizant Founders Cup, sitting 22 points ahead of Jin Hee Im.
While the Australian has yet to find victory lane so far this season, in addition to her third-place result in Clifton, N.J., Ruffels has also earned three other top-15 finishes in 2024 – a T13 at the Ford Championship presented by KCC, T3 at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship and T15 at the Blue Bay LPGA.
Ruffels has moved up 24 spots in the Rolex Rankings to No. 59 in the world, the highest she has ever been in her young career. The Epson Tour graduate is no stranger to the winner's circle, having recorded victories on the Epson Tour in 2023 at the Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic, Garden City Charity Classic and Four Winds Invitational.
The LPGA Tour rookie finished first in the Epson Tour's Race for the Card last year to earn membership for the 2024 season and earned Epson Tour Player of the Year honors, making it no surprise that she has continued to shine on the LPGA Tour.
Epson Tour's Race for the Card Continues in Utah
The Race for the Card continues as the Epson Tour tees it up in the Beehive State for the final event in four weeks out West, with players vying for 500 points as they pursue their LPGA Tour cards in Utah.
Madison remains atop the standings with 712.500 points following her first Epson Tour win at Casino Del Sol Golf Classic and a tie for fifth at last week's Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic. Epson Tour rookie Briana Chacon went from No. 6 to second with her T18 finish in Scottsdale, Ariz., having 595 points.
Jessica Peng is in third place with 588.000 points, while Juliana Hung moves from No. 5 to No. 4 with 584.150 points after finishing T37 at TPC Scottsdale - Champions Course. Rounding out the top five is Valery Plata, with 577 points, who captured a victory at the Florida's Natural Charity Classic.
Some other significant moves following the Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic are as follows:
- Ruixin Liu catapulted from 124th to eighth in the Race following her win in Scottsdale, Ariz., and has 507 total points
- Mariel Galdiano, who recorded a runner-up finish at the Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic, went from 29th to 10th with 491.200 total points
- Dana Fall jumped to 22nd with 267.200 total points after her solid performance at TPC Scottsdale - Champions Course
The Race for the Card is a season-long points competition in which Epson Tour members accumulate points in every official Epson Tour tournament. The ultimate goal is to finish in the top 15 in the point standings to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season. The point-based system, new on the Epson Tour this season, replaces the money-based system and will award points to those who make the cut weekly.
The 2024 season will also be the first year that Epson Tour athletes will vie for 15 LPGA Tour cards. They will be awarded after the season-ending Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, Calif., this fall.
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