Ko Jin-young drops to No. 2 on Rolex World Rankings

Ko Jin-young competes in the Evian Championship at Evian-les-Bains in France on July 27. [AFP/YONHAP]

Ko Jin-young dropped to second on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings on Monday, ending a two-month spell at the top that also saw her break the all-time LPGA record for most weeks spent at No. 1.

Ko dropped to second on Monday with her average ranking points at 7.54, just behind Nelly Korda of the United States with 7.75.

Ko had held the No. 1 spot since May 22, having started the year at No. 5 and taken two victories early in the season — at the HSBC Women’s World Championships in March and the Cognizant Founders Cup in May.

A month later, Ko became the first golfer ever to spend 159 weeks at No. 1 on June 26, speaking the long-standing 158-week record set by Lorena Ochoa of Mexico.

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 joined 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.

Ko drops out of the lead this week with that record now extended to 163 weeks.

Ko’s drop in the rankings comes after a disappointing outing at the Amundi Evian Championship over the weekend, where she failed to repeat her 2019 success and instead finished tied for 20th.

Korda finished tied for ninth — alongside four other golfers including Korea’s Kim Su-ji — giving her just enough points to take the No. 1 spot.

With such a small gap on points, Ko and Korda could continue to go back and forth on the lead for some time.

Ko will sit out her first chance to reclaim the top spot, however, as she opted not to fly to the home of golf for the Freed Group Women’s Scottish Open, teeing off Thursday at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, Scotland.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]