Battle for top spot continues this week at RICOH Women's British Open
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., July 26, 2010 - With her victory at the Evian Masters Presented by Societe Generale, Jiyai Shin reclaimed the top spot in the Rolex Rankings released on Monday. Shin first claimed the top spot on May 3rd following the retirement of Lorena Ochoa.
The battle for Rolex Rankings No. 1 continues this week at the final major of the season, the RICOH Women's British Open. Scenarios for next Monday's Rolex Rankings will be available from the LPGA later this week.
The South Korean originally held the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Rankings for seven weeks after overtaking Ochoa, but emergency appendectomy surgery on June 8 sidelined her for two events, allowing Japan's Ai Miyazato to take over as No. 1. Miyazato held the spot for one week before Cristie Kerr overtook her as No. 1 with a victory at the LPGA Championship Presented by Wegmans. Kerr held the No. 1 spot for three weeks before Miyazato reclaimed it entering last week's Evian Masters.
Weeks as No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings* | |
Player/Country | Weeks |
Lorena Ochoa/Mexico | 158 |
Annika Sorenstam/Sweden | 60 |
Jiyai Shin/South Korea | 8 |
Cristie Kerr/U.S. | 3 |
Ai Miyazato/Japan | 2 |
*Officially launched on Feb. 21, 2006 |
Biggest movers in the top-100 | |||
Player/Country | Last week | This week | Positions moved |
Alexis Thompson/USA | 149 | 74 | +75 |
Jeong Jang/South Korea | 81 | 65 | +16 |
Vicky Hurst/USA | 67 | 60 | +7 |
Shin's victory on Sunday was her first of the 2010 season and seventh of her LPGA career. Last year, Shin earned Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors and became the first South Korean to top the season-ending money list.
The 22-year-old Shin turned professional in 2005 and burst onto the KLPGA scene in 2006, earning Rookie and Player of the Year honors on the heels of four victories. In 2007, Shin broke the KLPGA career money record set by Il Mi Chung (99 events) after just 33 events and recorded 16 top 10 finishes in 18 events played including nine victories. In all, she has 32 professional wins (20 KLPGA, seven LPGA, three JLPGA, two Ladies Asian Golf Tour) in her fifth season of full-time professional competition.
Shin was at a driving range in Korea in 2004 when her mother and two younger siblings were injured in a car accident. Her mother died as a result of her injuries and her siblings spent nearly a year in the hospital - with Shin at their side - before recovering. Her father invested her mother's life insurance money into Shin's golf career.
About the Rolex Rankings
The Rolex Rankings is the first-ever world rankings system for women's golf sanctioned by the five major women's professional golf Tours: the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA); Ladies European Tour (LET); Ladies Professional Golfers' Association of Japan (LPGA of Japan); Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA); Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG); as well as the Ladies Golf Union (LGU), which administers the Ricoh Women's British Open. The Rolex Rankings are the only women's world rankings that incorporate player performances from the five major tours and the Duramed Futures Tour, the official developmental tour of the LPGA. R2IT, an independent software development company developed the software for the Rolex Rankings and maintains the Rolex Rankings on a weekly basis.