Feng becomes first Chinese player, male or female, to reach World No. 1

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 13, 2017 – In a historic first for professional golf, Shanshan Feng, of the People’s Republic of China, has reached No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings (WWGR). She becomes the first player from China, male or female, to sit at the top of the golf rankings.

"It's the longest day in my life to wait for the update of the world ranking,” said Feng after winning the Blue Bay LPGA on Saturday on Hainan Island, China. “When I finally see the Chinese flag on top of the ranking, I feel all the efforts over the past 18 years on golf is worth it. I really enjoy the moment and hopefully this could encourage a younger generation in China to go for this sport."

Reaching No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings culminated a tremendous four-week stretch for the 28-year-old Feng, who began her streak sitting sixth in the WWGR. On Oct. 22, she tied for third at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship presented by CTBC, followed by a tie for second at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, marking the fourth consecutive year she finished first or second at that event.

The next week and up to fourth in the WWGR, Feng took her second straight victory at the TOTO Japan Classic, becoming the first player to successfully accomplish a title defense on the LPGA Tour in 2017.

Going into last week’s Blue Bay LPGA, Feng was third in the WWGR, which tied the highest ranking of her career. She then became the first player of 2017 to win in consecutive weeks when she took home the title Saturday in her home country, and vaulted over Sung Hyun Park and So Yeon Ryu to reach World No. 1.

Feng has one additional win in 2017, coming at the LPGA Volvik Championship in May, and nine for her career. She has nine other top-10 finishes this season, including at three of the season’s five majors. Feng, who won the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, is second to Ryu in the Rolex Player of the Year rankings and sits third in the season-ending Race to the CME Globe and on the LPGA Official Money List.

In 2012, Feng captured her only career major title when she earned a two-stroke win at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. She also has seven career wins on the Ladies European Tour, including four of the last five Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.

To reach the top spot in the rankings, Feng moved past Park, who reached No. 1 on Nov. 6. The last person to hold World No. 1 honors for a single week was Cristie Kerr, from Oct. 25-31, 2010.

Feng is the fifth player to reach World No. 1 in 2017, joining Lydia Ko, Ariya Jutanugarn, Ryu and Park. This is the most players at No. 1 in a single year since 2010, when Lorena Ochoa, Jiyai Shin, Ai Miyazato and Kerr each reached the top of the rankings.

History of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings Number One Position

#	Player	Age (Y/M/D)	From:	To:	No. Weeks
23	Shanshan Feng	28/3/8	Nov. 13, 2017	Present	1
22	Sung Hyun Park	24/1/15	Nov. 6, 2017	Nov. 12, 2017	1
21	So Yeon Ryu	26/11/28	June 26, 2017	Nov. 5, 2017	19
20	Ariya Jutanugarn	21/6/20	June 12, 2017	June 25, 2017	2
19	Lydia Ko (2)	18/6/2	October 26, 2015	June 11, 2017	85
18	Inbee Park (3)	26/11/3	June 15, 2015	October 25, 2015	19
17	Lydia Ko (1)	17/9/9	February 2, 2015	June 14, 2015	19
16	Inbee Park (2)	26/3/15	October 27, 2014	February 1, 2015	14
15	Stacy Lewis (2)	29/3/17	June 2, 2014	October 26, 2014	21
14	Inbee Park (1)	24/9/3	April 15, 2013	June 1, 2014	59
13	Stacy Lewis (1)	28/1/2	March 18, 2013	April 14, 2013	4
12	Yani Tseng	22/0/22	February 14, 2011	March 17, 2013	109
11	Jiyai Shin (3)	22/6/4	November 1, 2010	February 13, 2011	15
10	Cristie Kerr (3)	33/0/13	October 25, 2010	October 31, 2010	1
9	Ai Miyazato (3)	25/2/4	August 23, 2010	October 24, 2010	9
8	Cristie Kerr (2)	32/10/4	August 16, 2010	August 22, 2010	1
7	Jiyai Shin (2)	22/2/28	July 26, 2010	August 15, 2010	3
6	Ai Miyazato (2)	25/1/0	July 19, 2010	July 25, 2010	1
5	Cristie Kerr (1)	32/8/16	June 28, 2010	July 18, 2010	3
4	Ai Miyazato (1)	25/0/2	June 21, 2010	June 27, 2010	1
3	Jiyai Shin (1)	22/0/5	May 3, 2010	June 20, 2010	7
2	Lorena Ochoa	25/5/8	April 23, 2007	May 2, 2010	158
1	Annika Sorenstam	35/4/11	February 20, 2006	April 22, 2007	61

Career weeks at Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings Number One Position

Lorena Ochoa	158 weeks
Yani Tseng	109 weeks
Lydia Ko	104 weeks
Inbee Park	92 weeks
Annika Sorenstam	61 weeks
Stacy Lewis	25 weeks
Jiyai Shin	25 weeks
So Yeon Ryu	19 weeks
Ai Miyazato	11 weeks
Cristie Kerr	5 weeks
Ariya Jutanugarn	2 weeks
Shanshan Feng	1 week
Sung Hyun Park	1 week

Shanshan Feng Moves to No. 1 in Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings

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