BOCA RATON, Fla. — When Nelly Korda ascended to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings in June, she became the third American to occupy the spot since the rankings were introduced in 2006.
Some would say, “just” the third American. Others, like one of those who knows what it is like to hold the title as the best female golfer in the world, believe it’s a number that should be celebrated.
“It’s tough to get to No. 1,” said Cristie Kerr, who shot a 2-over 74 in Thursday’s opening round of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. “It’s a very international tour so it’s pretty good we’ve had a couple of Americans get to No. 1 in the world.”
Kerr, 44, held the top spot for five weeks in 2010. Stacy Lewis topped the rankings for 25 weeks, most recently in 2014. Korda, who is from Bradenton, has been sitting atop the rankings for 29 weeks.
Nelly, 23, is joined by older sister Jessica in the rankings. Nelly has repeated several times that being No. 1 is “temporary” and said Wednesday it’s not something she dwells on.
“I try not to focus on being the No. 1 player in the world,” said Nelly, who shot a 68 Thursday.
Jessica, who shot an even-par 72 Thursday, said when Nelly became the first American to finished the season at No. 1, “we were just like, ‘woo-hoo.’
“It’s something you are definitely going to look back on in your career, not necessarily in the moment,” added Jessica.
South Korean golfers have ruled
Nelly Korda supplanted South Korean Jin Young Ko, who held the top spot for 100 weeks. South Koreans have been atop the rankings more than golfers from any other country, with five totaling 276 weeks.
Next are golfers from Mexico, Taiwan, New Zealand and Sweden. Those countries, though, are represented by one golfer each, Lorena Ochoa (158 weeks), Yani Tseng (109), Lydia Ko (104) and Annika Sorenstam (60).
The American triumvirate is next.
The American women are in as strong position as they have been in years. Nelly followed up her rise to the top by winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. Americans hold six of the top 22 spots in the rankings and 12 of the top 50. South Korea leads with 13 of the top 50. Japan has seven. In the summer of 2019, six of the top 11 were from South Korea.
“We should definitely be celebrating that we’ve got a very strong young American contingent,” said Laura Davies, a native of England who has been on the LPGA for more than 30 years. “That’s paramount for the LPGA Tour because it is home base. I think it makes the tour strong when the top Americans are at the top of the tree.”
Nelly is followed by Danielle Kang (No. 8), Lexi Thompson (12), Lizette Salas (19), Jessica Korda (21) and Ally Ewing (22) as the top-ranked Americans. Salas is the only American in the top 50 not in the field at Gainbridge.
Of the 29 events in the LPGA 2021 schedule, eight were won by Americans, seven by South Koreans. Nelly Korda won four of those.
U.S. women golfers on the rise
“I think the state of women’s golf in the U.S. is really good,” said Ewing, who shot a 68 Thursday. “You’ve seen a lot of players rise. It’s great to see a lot of American players playing well.”
Ewing has been on the tour six years. She gained status after graduating from Mississippi State but opted to play one year on the Symetra Tour. She credits coaching as a major reason more younger players are ready for the tour, whether they are coming right out of college or even those who skipped college.
Kang won the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando last Sunday. She continued her shot-making with a 65 Thursday, putting her second, two shots behind Ko, a South Korean-born New Zealand golfer. Ko was the bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics.
“People need to celebrate how good the Americans have done for the past 10 years,” Kerr said. “It was a lot of talk we weren’t doing very well enough, and we have been. So, I think people need to talk about that more.”
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