'LA Championship Runner-Up' Kim Sei-young Enters World Top 10... Im Jin-hee Jumps an Impressive '8 Spots'

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Sei-young (33), who fought a nail-biting battle until the very end at the LPGA Tour LA Championship, successfully re-entered the world top 10 by climbing the world rankings.

According to the women's golf world rankings released on the 21st (Korean time), Kim Sei-young moved up one spot from last week's 10th place to 9th. This result reflects her runner-up finish at the LPGA Tour LA Championship, which concluded the previous day.

Kim Sei-young aimed for the title at the tournament held at El Caballero Country Club in Los Angeles. She began the final round as the sole leader by two strokes. However, Kim incurred a penalty on the 16th hole (par 5) and struggled in a bunker on the 17th hole (par 3), resulting in a bogey and allowing Hannah Green (Australia) and Im Jin-hee (28, Shinhan Financial Group) to share the lead. Ultimately, she narrowly missed the title after Green secured a birdie in a dramatic 18th hole (par 4) playoff, settling for runner-up. Nevertheless, she achieved a significant milestone by climbing to 9th in the world rankings, along with a prize money of $388,849 (approximately 572 million won).

Im Jin-hee, who displayed incredible late-game strength to surge into a tie for the lead at this tournament, also saw her world ranking rise sharply. She jumped an impressive eight spots to rank 32nd, up from last week.

Among Korean players, Kim Hyo-joo (29, Lotte) firmly held the 3rd world ranking, recording the highest position. Yoo Hae-ran maintained 13th place, while Choi Hye-jin followed in 17th. Additionally, Kim A-rim ranked 27th, and Hwang Yu-min placed 36th.

Jinette Tittikun (Thailand) retained the world No. 1 spot, while Nelly Korda (USA) held 2nd place. Hannah Green, who won this tournament to achieve a three-peat, climbed three spots in the world rankings to reach 5th. Meanwhile, Miu Yamashita (Japan, 6th), Lee Min-ji (Australia, 7th), and Lydia Ko (New Zealand, 8th) each dropped one position.

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*This content was translated by AI.