(Tokyo) The Thai Atthaya Thitikul became at 19 the second youngest world number one in the history of women’s golf after a thunderous start to the year on the LPGA circuit, the organization announced on Sunday.
Posted at 9:41 a.m.
The youngster, who twice triumphed on the elite US-based Women’s Tour in 2022 and secured a further 12 spots in the top 10 this season, dethrones the South Korean Ko Jin-young.
Ko had been leading the standings since January but recently suffered a wrist injury and withdrew from the BMW Championship last month in South Korea after two poor laps.
Atthaya is only the second player under 20 to reach the top of the rankings. New Zealand’s Lydia Ko was 17 when she became number 1 in 2015. Ko is now world number 3.
“It means a lot to my team, my family, my fans and myself,” said Atthaya, who will start as number one for the first time in this week’s LPGA Classic of Japan. She finished sixth in South Korea two weeks ago.
“It’s such an honor to have my name at the top among the biggest names in the sport,” she added. “It’s very special to get to the top, but it’s much harder to stay there.”
Atthaya is used to historical exploits. She had won the Thailand championship in 2017, when she was only 14 years old.