Two-time LPGA Tour winner is second player from People’s Republic of China to reach No. 1

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 11, 2023 – Twenty-year-old Ruoning Yin has reached No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings for the first time in her young career, according to the latest Rankings update. She becomes the 18th different player to reach No. 1 in the world and, for the first time in the history of the Rolex Rankings, the fifth-different player to hold the position in the same calendar year. In both 2022 and 2017, four different players held the No. 1 spot, which was the previous record.

Yin is the second player from the People’s Republic of China to get to No. 1 since the inception of the Rolex Rankings in 2006. She joins Shanshan Feng, who was No. 1 for 23 weeks from November 13, 2017 until April 22, 2018. At age 20 years, 11 months and 7 days, Yin is the third player to reach No. 1 at the age of 20 or younger, joining Atthaya Thitikul (19 years, 8 months and 11 days in October 2022) and Lydia Ko (17 years, 9 months and 9 days in February 2015 and 18 years, 6 months and 2 days old in October 2015).

Yin moved from No. 2 to No. 1 after a solo third place finish at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, bumping two-time 2023 major champion Lilia Vu, who has held the position since August 14. Yin’s result in Cincinnati is her third top-three finish in a row and fourth in her last five starts on the LPGA Tour.

“Before this week (in Cincinnati) I know what position I finish I can be the world No. 1. I just keep that in my mind. Last hole I check the leaderboard and I was like, okay, another week finish third, but assuming I'll be the world No. 1. It's just amazing,” Yin said after her final round at the Kroger Queen City Championship. “I got goosebumps. I mean, I think, yeah, world No. 1 is the big step on the way to chasing Shanshan.”

Yin became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the DIO Implant LA Open in March to join Feng (10 wins) as just the second player from the People’s Republic of China to win on Tour. She added her maiden major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol in June. She has finished in the top four seven times this season, including her two wins, and has three additional top-20 finishes. Yin was also the highest ranked member of the People’s Republic of China Team at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown in May at TPC Harding Park.

A 2022 LPGA Tour rookie, Yin first earned Tour status after a T4 finish at the 2021 LPGA Q-Series. She recorded her first top-10 result of her Tour career at the 2022 Dana Open where she finished in a tie for fourth. Prior to joining the LPGA Tour, Yin turned professional in 2020, winning the China LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament and joined the China LPGA (CLPGA), where she won her first three-straight events and received two Guinness World Record titles for most consecutive wins on the CLPGA and most consecutive wins on the CLPGA from professional debut. As an amateur, she won nine titles in 2019 and reached a career-high 64th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

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

#	Player	Age (Y/M/D)	From:	To:	No. of Weeks
43	Ruoning Yin	20/11/7	September 11, 2023	Present	1
42	Lilia Vu	25/10/0	August 14, 2023	September 10, 2023	4
41	Nelly Korda (5)	25/0/3	July 31, 2023	August 13, 2023	2
40	Jin Young Ko (5)	27/10/15	May 22, 2023	July 30, 2023	10
39	Nelly Korda (4)	24/8/27	April 24, 2023	May 21, 2023	4
38	Lydia Ko (3)	25/7/4	November 28, 2022	April 23, 2023	21
37	Nelly Korda (3)	24/3/17	November 14, 2022	November 27, 2022	2
36	Atthaya Thitikul	19/8/11	October 31, 2022	November 13, 2022	2
35	Jin Young Ko (4)	26/6/24	January 31, 2022	October 30, 2022	38
34	Nelly Korda (2)	23/3/11	November 8, 2021	January 30, 2022	12
33	Jin Young Ko (3)	26/3/18	October 25, 2021	November 7, 2021	2
32	Nelly Korda	22/11/0	June 28, 2021	October 24, 2021	17
31	Jin Young Ko (2)	24/0/22	July 29, 2019	June 27, 2021	100
30	Sung Hyun Park (4)	25/9/10	July 1, 2019	July 28, 2019	4
29	Jin Young Ko (1)	23/9/1	April 8, 2019	June 30, 2019	12
28	Sung Hyun Park (3)	25/5/13	March 4, 2019	April 7, 2019	5
27	Ariya Jutanugarn (3)	22/11/6	October 29, 2018	March 3, 2019	18
26	Sung Hyun Park (2)	24/10/29	August 20, 2018	October 28, 2018	10
25	Ariya Jutanugarn (2)	22/8/7	July 30, 2018	August 19, 2018	3
24	Inbee Park (4)	29/9/11	April 23, 2018	July 29, 2018	14
23	Shanshan Feng	28/3/8	November 13, 2017	April 22, 2018	23
22	Sung Hyun Park (1)	24/1/16	November 6, 2017	November 12, 2017	1
21	So Yeon Ryu	26/11/28	June 26, 2017	November 5, 2017	19
20	Ariya Jutanugarn (1)	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 No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings:

Jin Young Ko	163 weeks
Lorena Ochoa	158 weeks
Lydia Ko	125 weeks
Yani Tseng	109 weeks
Inbee Park	106 weeks
Annika Sorenstam	61 weeks
Nelly Korda	38 weeks
Stacy Lewis	25 weeks
Jiyai Shin	25 weeks
Shanshan Feng	23 weeks
Ariya Jutanugarn	23 weeks
Sung Hyun Park	20 weeks
So Yeon Ryu	19 weeks
Ai Miyazato	11 weeks
Cristie Kerr	5 weeks
Atthaya Thitikul	2 weeks
Lilia Vu	4 weeks
Ruoning Yin	1 week

Ruoning Yin Becomes No. 1 in Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings

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