World women’s golf has entered the era of the Spring and Autumn Warring States. In an era where absolute powerhouses have disappeared, among Korean female golfers, Ji-ae Shin’s rapid progress stands out.
In the Rolex Women’s Golf World Ranking announced on the 15th, Shin Ji-ae was ranked 17th. It has risen 8 places from last week’s 25th place. Her main stage is the Japan Women’s Professional Golf (JLPGA) Tour, and she has the highest world ranking among players active on stages other than the American Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) tour. Among Korean players, she was ranked third, after Ko Jin-young (3rd) and Kim Hyo-joo (7th).
In May 2010, Shin Ji-ae, who became the first Korean player to reach the world No. 1 in women’s golf, maintained her top 20-30 position while performing on the Japanese stage. She had a winless season last year due to back surgery on her elbow and at one point she was down to 80th. But she has changed this year. Even at the age of 35, she showed off her rust-free prowess. She started with a win at the Australian Women’s Professional Golf (WPGA) Tour in Australia in February, where she won the Victoria Open, and she achieved two wins on the Japan Women’s Professional Golf (JLPGA) Tour. She followed this up with a string of good results in her major tournaments, including a runner-up in the US Women’s Open last month and a third place in the AIG Women’s Open, which ended on the 14th.메이저놀이터
Her world rankings also showed a steep rise. Shin Ji-ae, who started at world No. 67 in the first week of January, achieved her second win of her JLPGA Tour season at the Earth Mondamine Cup in June, rising to world No. 33. She subsequently finished runner-up at the US Women’s Open, which brought her to No. 23, and a third at the AIG Women’s Open, which brought her to No. 17. It is the first time in four years since July 2019 that Shin Ji-ae entered the world’s top 20.
Shin Ji-ae stands out especially among Korean golfers. Korea, which only had 6 people in the top 20 in the world rankings in August of last year, has reduced to 3 people in a year. It is because of her general sluggishness, such as a draw in the majors. Jeon In-ji, who won the Major Women’s PGA Championship last year, is 25th, and Yoo Hae-ran, who is aiming for the LPGA Rookie of the Year this year, is 35th. Park Min-ji, who is the highest ranked golfer on the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) tour, fell to 26th.
Taking advantage of this gap, players of various nationalities have settled in the world’s top 10. Three American players, including Lilia Boo, who won the AIG Women’s Open and became the first world No. 1 in women’s golf, Nellie Korda (2nd) and Allison Kofuz (8th), made it into the top 10. South Korea (2) was followed by France (Celine Boutier, 4th), China (In Luoning, 5th), New Zealand (Lydia Ko, 6th), England (Charlie Hull, 9th), Canada (Brooke Henderson, 9th). 10) also produced top 10 golfers.
On the other hand, Lee Min-ji (Australia, 11th) and Ataya Titikkun (Thailand, 12th), who ranked first in the world last year, were pushed out of the top 10. Like Korea, Thailand and Japan were also relatively behind in the women’s golf spring and autumn era. In Japan, Hataoka Nasa ranks the highest at 15th.
As the competition for world rankings in each country intensifies, the competition to secure the right to participate in the Paris Olympics next year is expected to intensify. According to the world rankings to be announced on June 24 next year, up to 60 players per country can participate in women’s golf at the Paris Olympics, and up to 4 players per country within the 15th place can participate. Korea, which had four players at Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021, may have fewer qualifiers depending on the world rankings in the future.