Thai teenager Ataya Titikul became No. 1 on Monday, becoming the 16th player and the second youngest since the ranking began in 2006.
Titikul has won her last three tournaments on the LPGA Tour to reach No. 1. Instead, she replaced 19-year-old South Korean Jin Young Ko in the week she did not play.
Titikul makes her No. 1 debut in Toto Japan Classic.
“It’s very special to reach the top, but it’s very difficult to maintain it,” Titikul said.
Her first full year on the LPGA Tour was more consistent than outstanding. Titikul won twice – in California a week before his first major and in Arkansas – to go along with 12 other top 10 tournaments.
After winning twice on the Ladies European Tour, she finished at No. 19 in the world last year and has struggled with strong play and injuries.
Nellie Korda, who started the year at No. 1, underwent surgery for a blood clot in her left arm and missed four months.
Ko started the season by winning the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore and has been ranked No. 1 since late January. But she is dealing with a left wrist injury that will keep her out for two months, and she withdrew from the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.
That paved the way for Titikul, who has finished in the top 10 in her last five games.
Titikul is the fourth player to reach the No. 1 ranking, joining Lydia Ko in 2015, Ai Miyazato in 2010, and Lorena Ochoa in 2010.
Lydia Ko reached there for the first time at the age of 17 and remains 1st.
Titikul This is one of her four wins.
She joins Sung Hyun Park as the only players to reach No. 1 in their debut season on the LPGA Tour. Park won 10 times on the Korean LPGA before coming to the US.
Jin Young Ko broke the record for seven weeks with Ochoa since April 2007, making it four times for a total of 152 weeks.
