Bianca Pagdanganan came up short in Texas after missing out on her first LPGA Tour win, but she still had the move of the week, jumping 73 spots in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings to No. 160, the highest rank of her career since June of 2021. With limited opportunities to compete on the LPGA Tour, having lost full playing status for the 2023 season, Pagdanganan has seized each playing opportunity to steadily work toward regaining her position in world rankings and the Race to the CME Globe.
While Padanganan's move in the Rolex Rankings was notable, her move in the Race to the CME Globe standings has more considerable implications for 2024, with members finishing in the top 80 and ties on the previous season-ending Points List earning full status for the next season. In the last two weeks, the Filipino long-ball hitter recorded back-to-back top 10 finishes, a tie for second at The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America and a tie for third at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G to move from No. 129 to No. 48 in the standings, both well inside that top-80 cutoff and well inside the top-60 cutoff for the CME Group Tour Championship.
The 25-year-old was asked last week if she thinks about the Race to CME Globe standings when teeing it up in each tournament and admitted that while she does know she needs to improve her status, she tends to focus on the small details in hopes that things will eventually work out.
"It's just funny because it started off with conditional status,” she said following her T2 in Texas. “I just needed to get back in the reshuffle. Oh, reshuffle. Try to bump my way up. It's a step-by-step process for me, so after last week, I was like, okay, I'm in a good position. Let's try to stay within the top 100. I honestly don't know where I am right now, but I honestly haven't thought that far after yet.”
Sarah Kemp Climbs Up 17 Spots
Sarah Kemp made the second most impactful move up the Rolex Rankings, jumping up 17 spots to No. 121 in the world with a solo fourth at Old American Golf Club, her third top-10 this season. This finish ties her second-best result on Tour, which came in 2021 at the Pure Silk Championship.
Like Pagdanganan, Kemp'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. 72 to No. 47 and into the field at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. The LPGA Tour veteran has made 13 cuts in 20 starts this season, earning two top-10 performances in addition to her top five in Texas, tying for ninth at the FREED GROUP Women's Scottish Open presented by Trust Golf and finishing eighth place at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational alongside playing partner and Epson Tour winner Alena Sharp.
The Australian has competed on the LPGA Tour since 2008 and has 12 career top-10 finishes with $1,660,281 in career earnings. But her success last week could be a breakthrough moment that propels her up a couple of notches, one that sees her eventually enter the winner’s circle.
Ten Epson Tour Players Earn LPGA Tour Cards for 2024
On Sunday, the Epson Tour handed out ten LPGA Tour cards for the 2024 season following the Epson Tour Championship at LPGA International’s Jones Course. The top 10 finishers in the Epson Tour's Race for the Card will play full-time on the LPGA Tour next year through category nine on the LPGA priority list.
The big moves on Sunday came from Auston Kim and Kristen Gillman. Kim closed at 23-under to capture her first professional victory, jumping from No. 15 to No. 3 on the final money list and earning an opportunity to play on the LPGA Tour. Three weeks ago, Kristen Gillman was 17th in the Race for the Card and recorded three consecutive top-10 finishes in the final three events of the 2023 Epson Tour season to regain her LPGA Tour status. She was 35-under over the last 10 rounds en route to earning her card, finishing in a tie for fourth at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout, a tie for third at the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic and a tie for fourth at the Epson Tour Championship.
In addition to Kim and Gillman, eight additional players secured their LPGA Tour cards for the 2024 season: Gabriela Ruffels, Natasha Andrea Oon, Jiwon Jeon, Minji Kang, Agathe Laisne, Jenny Coleman, Roberta Liti and Isabella Fierro.
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