Most of the 2023 LPGA season was entirely unpredictable. Few could’ve guessed that Lilia Vu would win two majors or that Lydia Ko would fail to qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, which she won the year before.
It was a year of big moves – in both directions – and the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings tells the tale.
How they work:
Jeff Sagarin’s rating system is based on a mathematical formula that uses a player’s won-lost-tied record against other players when they play on the same course on the same day, and the stroke differential between those players, then links all players to one another based on common opponents. The ratings give an indication of who is playing well over the past 52 weeks.
Also, players must have played in at least 10 events to be ranked. Editor’s note: We’ve included the Rolex rankings for the sake of comparison.
UP: Hyo Joo Kim
End of 2022: No. 8.
End of 2023: No. 1.
Hyo Joo Kim’s consistent play landed her atop the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings at the close of the year. Kim led the tour in rounds under par and finished second on tour in scoring average. She compiled a head-to-head record of 2,167 wins, 344 losses and 66 ties all season.
Kim won the Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America in October and in the majors she was 11th at the Chevron Championship, tied for 20th at the KPMG Women’s PGA, tied for sixth at the U.S. Women’s Open, tied for 20th at the Amundi Evian and tied for fourth at the AIG Women’s Open.
Rolex ranking: No. 8.
UP: Ruoning "Ronni" Yin
End of 2022: No. 104.
End of 2023: No. 3.
A left wrist injury caused by overuse cleared up in early 2023 and Yin took off, winning in only her second start of the season at the Dio Implant Open. She then became only the second Chinese player to win a major. Yin shot 67 on Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA, hitting a staggering 36 greens over the weekend.
Rolex ranking: No. 2.
UP: Angel Yin
End of 2022: No. 122.
End of 2023: No. 14.
The powerful Yin took a more conservative approach this season and tried to play with the same kind of emotion she brings to the Solheim Cup – because that’s her personality.
The changes led to her first LPGA victory in her 159th career start at the 2023 Buick LPGA Shanghai. Yin also won the $1 million bonus for claiming the Aon Risk Reward Challenge. She led the tour in strokes gained putting.
Rolex ranking: No. 22.
UP: Rose Zhang
End of 2022: Unranked.
End of 2023: No. 19.
Zhang didn’t appear in last year’s Sagarins because she was still dominating the amateur scene. The Stanford star turned professional in May after winning her second consecutive NCAA Championship and then became the first player in 72 years to win in her first LPGA tour start as a professional at the Mizuho Americas Open.
Rolex ranking: No. 26.
DOWN: Lydia Ko
End of 2022: No. 1.
End of 2023: No. 45.
Ko took a far greater plunge in the Sagarins because they’re based on a one-year window, while the Rolex Rankings use two years. The Kiwi failed to contend at an LPGA event until October, when she finished third at the BMW Ladies Championship, a tournament she won last year but required a sponsor exemption to get into this season.
Rolex ranking: No. 11.
DOWN: Lexi Thompson
End of 2022: No. 14.
End of 2023: No. 67.
The good news for Thompson is that she ended the season on a high after finding something that worked with new instructor Tony Ruggiero. Thompson’s driver, normally her biggest weapon, was lost for a large part of the season.
Thompson missed the cut in eight of her first 10 starts on the LPGA before turning things around in time for the Solheim Cup.
Rolex ranking: No. 31.
