Nelly Korda's return to world No. 1 for the sixth time in her career highlights the Moves of the Week. Korda etched her name on a trophy for the second time this year after carding a final-round 69 at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship to overtake Lilia Vu at the top of the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings. The American's two 2024 victories and tie for 16th finish at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions have catapulted her to the top spot, a position she has previously held for 37 weeks in her young career.
The major winner has earned nearly $10,000,000 in career earnings and has amassed 57 top 10s in her rise to the top. Korda became the third American player in the history of the Rolex Rankings to reach No. 1 in 2021, joining Cristie Kerr and Stacy Lewis. Korda also now leads the Rolex Player of the Year race by 11 points and is nearly 65 points ahead of Lydia Ko in the Race to the CME Globe.
Gabriela Ruffels On the Rise
Gabriela Ruffels ultimately came up short on Sunday after needing a birdie on the final hole to join Nelly Korda and Ryann O'Toole in a playoff in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., in pursuit of her first LPGA Tour victory. But she still moved up 59 spots in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings to No. 92, the first time she has ever been inside the top 100 in her career.
After a missed cut in her first event as an LPGA Tour rookie at the LPGA Drive On Championship, the Australian has started to find her footing, tying for third at last week's FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship to go along with her T15 result at the Blue Bay LPGA earlier this month.
The Epson Tour graduate is no stranger to the winner's circle, having recorded three victories on the Epson Tour in 2023 at the Carlisle Arizona Women's Championship, the Garden City Charity Classic at Buffalo Dunes and the Four Winds Invitational. Ruffels finished first in the Epson Tour's Race for the Card to earn an LPGA Tour membership for the 2024 season.
With her top-10 performance at Palos Verdes Golf Club, Ruffels moved from 70th to 21st in the Race to the CME Globe standings. She is also now ranked 21st on the Official Money List with $149,273 earned this season and is first in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie Player of the Year standings with 115 points.
Big Week for Americans Vying for U.S. Solheim Cup Team Spots
Eleven Americans earned Solheim Cup points last week, with five finishing in the top eight, led by Nelly Korda, who captured her second title in just her third start this season. Korda currently sits at No. 2 in the standings with 1393.50 points and is all but locked in to represent the United States in her fourth Solheim Cup this September in Gainesville, Va., at the beautiful Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
Andrea Lee moved into the seventh and final automatic qualifying spot for the U.S. Team, jumping ahead of Cheyenne Knight after her tie for fifth showing at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship. While Alison Lee continued her climb in the points standings, moving from 10th to ninth after joining Andrea Lee in a tie for fifth in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., Sarah Schmelzel, who has had two top 10s in her last two starts, finally cracked the top 10 with her tie for eighth at Palos Verdes Golf Club, currently sitting in 10th with 649 points.
Ryann O’Toole’s runner-up finish at last week’s FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship also has her eying a spot on only her second Solheim Cup team, as the LPGA Tour veteran currently sits at 16th in the standings with 397 points.
New Faces in the Epson Tour's Race for the Card
The Race for the Card continued as the Epson Tour teed it up in the Sunshine State for the final event in a three-week stretch to start the 2024 season. Valery Plata remains atop the standings with 577 points after capturing her first Epson Tour win at the Florida's Natural Charity Classic. Epson Tour rookie Briana Chacon went from unranked to a tie for second with Jessica Peng after her victory at the Atlantic Beach Classic, each having 500 points. Ana Belac is in fourth with 430 points, while Kim Kaufman rounds out the top five, moving from No. 11 to No. 5 with 404.667 points after a tie for second last week at Atlantic Beach Country Club.
Some other significant moves following the Atlantic Beach Classic:
- Jessica Porvasnik leaped into seventh in the Race following her runner-up finish in Atlantic Beach, Fla. and has 309.929 total points
- Lauren Stephenson, who has recorded two top-14 finishes in two events, went from 32nd to 12th with 198.333 total points
- Karen Chung jumped to 15th with 170.958 total points
The Race for the Card is a season-long points competition that sees Epson Tour members accumulate points in every official Epson Tour tournament with the ultimate goal of finishing in the top 15 in the point standings to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season. The point-based system, which is new on the Epson Tour this season, replaces the money-based system and will see points awarded 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 awarded after the season-ending Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, Calif.
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