LPGA rookie sensation rises to No. 2 in world rankings

South Korean LPGA rookie sensation Park Sung-hyun rose to No. 2 in the latest women's world rankings announced Tuesday.

Park moved up a spot to achieve a career high in ranking positions for the second straight week. She'd also gone up one spot to No. 3 the previous week.

Park's rise gave South Korea the top two female golfers in the world, with Ryu So-yeon entrenched as the No. 1 for the 10th consecutive week.

Park has won twice in her rookie season, most recently at the Canadian Pacific Women's Open last month. She is a virtual lock to win the Rookie of the Year points race with 1,285 points. Angel Yin of the United States is a distant second at 539.
 

Rookies earn 150 points for tour victories, 80 points for runner-up finishes, 75 points for third place and so forth. Points are doubled at the five major tournaments. There are 10 tournaments, including one major, remaining this season.

Park is also the LPGA leader in money ($1.88 million) and scoring average (69.000).

In the Player of the Year points, Ryu is the leader with 150 points, but Park is only 20 points behind.

Players earn 30 points for each victory, followed by 12 points for finishing second and nine points for ending in third. Points are doubled at major championships.

Including her two victories, Park has had seven top-10s in 17 starts this year. She has never missed a cut.

Ryu and Park are among five South Koreans inside the top 10 in the world rankings, joined by Chun In-gee (No. 5), Kim In-kyung (No. 7) and Park In-bee (No. 9). (Yonhap)