Kim Hyo-joo rises to No. 7 in world rankings after Aramco Korea Championship win

LPGA veteran Kim Hyo-joo rose to No. 7 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings after her second consecutive victory at the Ladies European Tour's Aramco Korea Championship on Sunday, bringing her one step closer to her goal of becoming world No. 1.

Kim Hyo-joo poses with the Aramco Korea Championship trophy at New Korea Country Club in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on May 11. [YONHAP]

LPGA veteran Kim Hyo-joo rose to No. 7 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings after her second consecutive victory at the Ladies European Tour's Aramco Korea Championship on Sunday, bringing her one step closer to her goal of becoming world No. 1.

Kim moved up one spot after earning 16 ranking points with her title defense at New Korea Country Club in Goyang, Gyeonggi.

She overtook Hannah Green of Australia, whose average dropped just below Kim’s at 4.64 points to Kim’s 4.66.

Kim overhauled her training regimen ahead of the 2025 season, replacing time-based sessions with goal-oriented drills that she repeats until she meets a specific performance target.

“I don’t think I’ve trained this much since I was in elementary school,” Kim said.

She also brought in former Korean women’s football team defender Shim Seo-yeon as her agent to help maintain her mental focus and competitive edge.

People around Kim say she initiated these changes because she had “a dream of reaching world No. 1” going into the 2025 season.

The results are starting to show, as she began the season outside the top 10 but moved up with a win at the LPGA's Ford Championship and a runner-up finish at the major Chevron Championship.

Her title defense at the Aramco Team Series added not only ranking points but also momentum.

Among Korean golfers, Ryu Hae-ran ranks the highest at No. 5, followed by Kim and Ko Jin-young at No. 9. Amy Yang holds the No. 19 spot and Yoon Ina is ranked 24th.

Shin Ji-yai jumped from No. 37 to No. 27 after winning the JLPGA's Salonpas Cup, while Lee Ye-won rose from No. 46 to No. 36 following her second straight win at the KLPGA’s NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship.

The top of the global leaderboard remained unchanged this week. Nelly Korda of the United States stayed at No. 1, with Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand coming in second and Lydia Ko of New Zealand at third and Yin Ruoning of China in fourth.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY SONG JI-HOON [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]