Ko Jin-young becomes first golfer to spend 159 weeks at No. 1

Ko Jin-young hits a tee shot on the 14th hole during the third round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club on Saturday in Springfield, New Jersey. [AFP/YONHAP]

Ko Jin-young on Monday set the record for the most weeks spent at No. 1 on the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings — 159 weeks — surpassing the record set by former golfer Lorena Ochoa of Mexico.

Ko, a 15-time LPGA winner, maintained the No. 1 spot in this week's World Golf Rankings with 8.31 points — well above No. 2 Nelly Korda of the United States with 7.45 points — after her tie for 20th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship on Sunday.

The 27-year-old has now spent 159 weeks as the world No. 1, during which she has ceded the top spot only a handful of times.

Ko first briefly claimed the top spot in April 2019, reclaiming it in July 2019 and holding on to it for 100 consecutive weeks through June 2021. She continued moving in and out of the top spot until a wrist injury last year hindered her performance and pushed her down to fifth on the rankings.

Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Korda all spent time at the top over the intervening eight months.

Ko Jin-young came back with a vengeance this season after recovering from the injury, winning two LPGA titles this season — first at the HSBC Women's World Championship in March and second at the Cognizant Founders Cup on May 14.

The victory at the Founders Cup also allowed her to become the event's first-ever three-time champion.

Ko then climbed up to the apogee of the rankings on May 23 and has retained it since.

Ko joins Ochoa in the record books with just a little help from the Covid-19 pandemic, as the LPGA froze the rankings from March to May 2020, during which there were no tournaments played. The LPGA still counted that period toward Ko's total weeks.

First introduced in 2006, the World Golf Rankings are announced weekly, and Ochoa was the longest golfer to hold the No. 1 position from April 2007 to May 2010 without ever ceding the spot.

"It's an honor people saying with Lorena and me in the same sentence," Ko said in an interview with the LPGA media team on Monday. "It makes me happy, but also, it makes me humble."

Only three other golfers have retained the coveted No. 1 position for over 100 weeks before: Lydia Ko, Zeng Yani of Taiwan and Park In-bee — the Korean Hall of Famer with 21 LPGA wins.

Ko Jin-young has also by far maintained the No. 1 position longer than any other Korean competitor.

Park had the spot for 106 weeks, Shin Ji-yai for 25 weeks, Park Sung-hyun for 20 weeks and Ryu So-yeon for 19 weeks.

Park has yet to return to the field since the AIG Women's Open in August 2022. She gave birth to her daughter in April and has not announced her return date.

Shin, on the other hand, gave up her LPGA membership in 2014 and now competes on the JPGA, while the two other golfers still active on the LPGA Tour have yet to secure a title this season.

Ko still remains the only Korean to have won a title this season.

No. 8 Kim Hyo-joo has come close to winning a trophy, managing a top-10 finish multiple times, but has not secured a title since the Lotte Championship in April last year.

She also tied for 20th with Ko at the PGA Championship last week.

The U.S. Women's Open, set to tee off on July 6 at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, is an opportunity for Kim to secure a title and become the second Korean golfer to win a trophy this season after Ko.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]