S. Korean Ko Jin-young falls from No. 1 in women's golf rankings

For the first time since the middle of May, Ko Jin-young of South Korea is not the top-ranked female golfer in the world.

In the latest rankings released Monday night, Ko slipped a notch to No. 2 with average ranking points of 7.54, with Nelly Korda of the United States trading places with Ko to become No. 1 at 7.75 points.

Ko began the year at No. 5 but rose to No. 1 on May 22 on the strength of her two LPGA victories early in the season. Then in late June, Ko set the record for most total weeks spent at No. 1 with 159.

Her stay at the top of the rankings reached 163 weeks last week. But at the latest major tournament held over the weekend, the Amundi Evian Championship, Ko tied for 20th, while Korda tied for ninth, allowing the latter to claim the No. 1 spot in the rankings.

Ko has not had a top-10 finish in five tournaments following her victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup on May 14.

Kim Hyo-joo, who also tied for 20th at Evian, fell from No. 8 to No. 11. This leaves Ko as the only South Korean in the top 10.

The women's world rankings evaluate players' performance over a rolling two-year period weighted in favor of the current year, with an emphasis placed on the most recent 13 weeks. (Yonhap)