Nelly Korda, all of 22 years old, officially ascended to the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings on Monday.
She took over the top spot after winning her first major Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, but the rankings didn’t update until Monday.
Korda is just the third American to climb to No. 1 since the rankings were introduced in 2006.
“Reaching World No. 1 has always been a goal of mine, and I can’t believe that I’ve actually done it. The other players who have been No. 1 are incredible, and I’m honored to join that list,” Korda said in a statement released by the LPGA.
Stacy Lewis was the last American to be No. 1, doing so for four weeks in 2013 and 21 weeks in 2014. Cristie Kerr was No. 1 for five weeks in 2010.
Korda was No. 3 before her win at the KPMG. She moved ahead of Jin Young Ko and Inbee Park, ending Ko’s run of 100 weeks atop the rankings.
Numbers game
Korda has three wins and eight top-10s this season. She leads the LPGA with 200 birdies. She also leads with 25 rounds in the 60s. She’s tied for first with the most eagles in 2021 with nine – she had two in Sunday’s final round at the KPMG.
Ko’s streak of 100 consecutive weeks at No. 1 was the third-longest. Lorena Ochoa was No. 1 for 158 weeks (April 23, 2007 to May 2, 2010), and Yani Tseng had a stretch of 109 weeks (Feb. 14, 2011 to March 17, 2013).
Annika Sorenstam was the first No. 1 in 2006 and held the top spot for 61 weeks before Ochoa had her run.
Money game
Korda is 64th on the LPGA’s all-time money list at $5,532,484. She’s played in 92 LPGA events. She took home $675,000 for winning the KPMG.
On to the Olympics
Korda is also an Olympian. The LPGA confirmed Sunday that Nelly and her sister, Jessica, will represent the United States in the Summer Games on Aug. 4-7 at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan. The sisters will join Lexi Thompson and Danielle Kang on the American squad. Thompson was also on the 2016 team in Rio. The official Olympic qualifiers for each country will be released Tuesday.
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols contributed to this article.
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