Nelly Korda has had a dominant grip on the world No.1 ranking for 71 consecutive weeks.
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But the possibility she could lose her top spot has never been more real than this week at the AIG Women’s Open.
Korda’s current lead over Jeeno Thitikul is the slimmest of margins at 0.1868 points. It’s her smallest margin over a No.2-ranked golfer since she became No.1 in March last year. Korda’s largest lead at the top was the week of May 20, 2024, when she had sizeable 6.8022 advantage over Lilia Vu after winning her sixth title of the year in the previous week.
Thitikul can re-take the No.1 ranking again (she held it for consecutive weeks from October 31 to November 13 in 2022) this week in many different ways, including some scenarios that even include Korda finishing ahead of Thitikul.
If Thitikul wins the Women’s Open, she’ll be guaranteed to return to No.1. If the Thai player misses the cut – which she’s done in only one start this year – the 27-year-old Korda would need to finish in solo 24th or worse for Thitikul to take over the top spot.
For any other finish, the lower Thitikul finishes, the further back Korda must be.
Here are a few scenarios, varied by ties, in which Thitikul can take over No.1 spot:
• Thitikul finishes second, Korda is third or worse.
• Thitikul finishes fifth, Korda is sixth or worse.
• Thitikul finishes 10th, Korda is seventh or worse.
• Thitikul finishes 20th, Korda is 12th or worse.
• Thitikul finishes 30th, Korda is 15th or worse.
Korda – who has made the cut in the four previous majors this year – became the top golfer in the world for the first time in June of 2021 and has held the top ranking for 108 weeks of her career. She lost it, but regained it in March of last year. She went on an historic run of winning five consecutive tournaments and seven overall last year. This year, she has yet to win a tournament, but has made the cut in all 12 events she’s played.
Thitikul, 22, has been able to apply pressure to Korda because she’s enjoying a consistently strong season. The five-time LPGA winner added her latest victory in May’s Mizuho Americas Open and has eight top-10s, including a playoff runner-up in her most recent event, the major Amundi Evian Championship in France.
