Ko Jin-young has ranked world No. 1 for 159 weeks

Ko Jin-young (28, pictured) has broken the record for the longest time spent in the category, extending her overall time at the top of the women's golf world rankings to 159 weeks. She retained her No. 1 spot in Tuesday's women's golf world rankings. This surpassed the record set by Lorena Ochoa (42, Mexico, retired) in 2010 with 158 weeks, taking her total number of weeks spent at number one to 159. Since no LPGA Tour events will be held this week, Ko's number of weeks at No. 1 will increase to 160 next week.

The women’s golf world ranking system was introduced in 2006, and only five players, including Ko Jin-young and Ochoa, have kept the top spot for more than 100 weeks. Ko, who made her 2018 debut on the LPGA Tour, reached the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in April 2019. She subsequently won July 2019, October 2021, January 2022, and May 2023, which helped her stay at the top of the rankings for 159 weeks. From July 2019 to June 2021, she held the No. 1 spot for 100 consecutive weeks. Ochoa reached number one in April 2007 and stayed at number one for 158 consecutive weeks until May 2010. It remains the world record for the longest time spent at the summit in a row.

“It is a great honor, and I am happy to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ochoa,” Ko said. “But I am humble.” On this day, Ochoa said on social media of the LPGA Tour, “I realized that today is a very special day. To be number one in the world for such a long time is incredible. I hope you keep moving forward at the top,” she congratulated Ko.

Ko will compete in the U.S. Women's Open, the third major event of the LPGA Tour season, which begins next Thursday.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com