Tough spell sees Ko Jin-young drop to third on world rankings

Ko Jin-young fell to third on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings Monday, two weeks after she dropped to No. 2 position.

Ko Jin-young lines up a putt on the 16th green during the second round of the Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club on July 14 in Sylvania, Ohio. [AFP/YONHAP]

Ko Jin-young fell to third on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings Monday, two weeks after she dropped to No. 2 position.

Ko slipped to third with her average ranking points at 7.14. She is now behind two American golfers: No. 1 Lilia Vu with 8.28 and No. 2 Nelly Korda with 7.81.

The drop in the rankings came after she tied for 30th at the AIG Women’s Open last week.

The 28-year-old golfer has been unimpressive in recent LPGA tournaments, failing to manage a single top-10 finish since her last victory in May.

After securing two titles this season at the HSBC Women’s World Championships in March and the Cognizant Founders Cup in May, Ko claimed the No. 1 spot.

She even went on to become the first golfer ever to have spent 159 weeks at No. 1 on June 26, breaking the 158-week record set by former golfer Lorena Ochoa of Mexico.

Ko’s record, however, came to an end on July 31 at 163 weeks when she ceded the No. 1 spot to Korda.

When Ko tied for 30th at the AIG Women’s Open last week it was her third worst result this season after failing to make the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open in July and tying for 44th at the JM Eagle LA Championship in April.

That result forced her to cede the No. 2 position to Korda.

Vu, on the other hand, climbed from No. 6 to No. 1 after winning the AIG Women’s Open. That title was her third trophy of the season after her first victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February and the second at the Chevron Championship in April.

Lilia Vu celebrates victory on the 18th green on day four of the 2023 AIG Women's Open at Walton Heath, in Surrey, England on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

The 25-year-old Vu is currently the golfer with the most titles this season at three alongside world No. 4 Celine Boutier of France.

The only other Korean golfer in the top-10 ranking is No. 7 Kim Hyo-joo, who has yet to secure a title despite performing well throughout the season.

She has managed eight top-10 finishes so far and tied for fourth at the AIG Women’s Open.

Ko still remains the only Korean golfer to have won a title this season with three months of the 2023 LPGA season left to play.

The LPGA will continue this week, with the ISPS Handa World Invitational set to tee off at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in Northern Ireland on Thursday.

The Tour will also head to Korea this year with the BMW Ladies Championship set to take place at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi on Oct. 19.

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