Ko Jin-young loses world No. 1 spot to Thai rookie Atthaya Thitikul

Golf

Published: 01 Nov. 2022, 16:49

Ko Jin-young loses world No. 1 spot to Thai rookie Atthaya Thitikul

Ko Jin-young tees off during the first round of the CP Women's Open wearing a bandage around her left wrist on Aug 25 in Ottawa, Canada. [USA TODAY/YONHAP]

Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand watches her shot on the 16th hole during the LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on Sept. 25, in Rogers, Arkansas. [AP/YONHAP]

Ko Jin-young lost her No. 1 spot on the Rolex World Rankings on Monday to Thai rookie Atthaya Thitikul.

The top Korean's fall to second place comes nine months after she took the top spot on Jan. 31. She first reached No.1 in April of 2019 and now has spent a combined total of 152 weeks on top, just six weeks shy of Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa’s record of 158 weeks.

Ko has been struggling with a wrist injury for the last few months, failing to make the cut in two consecutive LPGA tournaments in August then sitting out of matches for two months.

Her most recent appearance was at the BMW Ladies Championship in October, but she was forced to withdraw from the event after carding an eight-over-par on the first day and a seven-over-par on the second day.

Ko Jin-young walks off the second tee during the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship at Oak Valley Country Club in Wonju, Gangwon on Oct. 20. [AFP/YONHAP]

While Ko’s form wobbled, Thitikul has been playing exceptional golf this year despite being new to the LPGA Tour. Thitikul missed the cut in only one of her 24 tournaments this year.

In just her third start, she tied for fourth at the HSBC Women's World Championship in March, went on the following week to tie for eighth at the Honda LPGA Thailand then won her first-ever LPGA title in her fifth start ever at the JTBC Classic on March 24.

After a No. 9 finish at the Kroger Queen City Championship on Sept. 8, Thitikul landed within the top 10 in all of her last five events including winning her second title at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on Sept. 23.

Thitikul is the 16th golfer to reach No. 1.

Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand plays her shot on the fifth tee during the final round of the LPGA Mediheal Championship at The Saticoy Club on Oct. 9 in Somis, California. [AFP/YONHAP]

Thitikul is only the second player under age 20 to reach No. 1 at 19 years, eight months and 11 days, joining Lydia Ko of New Zealand.

When Lydia Ko first topped the rankings in February of 2015, she was just 17 years, nine months and nine days old. The second time the Kiwi took pole position in October of 2015, she was 18 years, six months and two days old.

Thitikul is also the second LPGA golfer to reach the top spot as a rookie, following Park Sung-hyun, who reached No. 1 in November 2017 as a rookie.

Following countrywoman Ariya Jutanugarn, Thitikul is the second player from Thailand to top the rankings.

Jutanugarn held the top seat for a total of 23 weeks between June of 2017 to March 2019, before Ko Jin-young passed her.

"It means a lot for my team, my family, my supporters and myself,” said Thitikul.

“It is such an honor to have my name at the top amongst the biggest names of the game. It is very special to get to the top but it is much harder to retain it. I still have a lot to learn from all the legends and current players both on and off the course. I will continue to work hard for my family, my team, my fans and my country."

Thitikul currently leads the Rolex Rookie of the Year standings with 1,487 points and is fourth in the race to become Rolex Player of the Year with 129 points. Thitikul also tops the Tour in the number of birdies, with a total of 375, and is tied for fourth for number of eagles, at 11.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]