Wrist Injury Costs Ko Jin-young Top Spot in World Rankings

Golfer Ko Jin-young has lost the world No. 1 spot after a reign of nine months at the top. She has been in a slump since she suffered a wrist injury in August.

Ko dropped to second with 7.09 points, 0.04 point behind Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand (7.13 points), in the latest rankings released on Monday.

Ko retook the top spot on Jan. 31, three months after she lost it, beating Nelly Korda of the U.S.

The world rankings are based on players' performances over a rolling two-year period, and more weight is given to recent or major events.

Ko had three top-10 finishes after winning the HSBC Women's World Championships in March, which was her first LPGA Tour event this season. But she took a break due to a wrist injury after failing to make the cut at the AIG Women's Open and the CP Women's Open in August -- the only times she has missed the cut since her LPGA debut in 2018.

She returned to the tour to compete at the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea last month, but carded a 15-over 159 in two rounds, her worst ever LPGA rounds, and withdrew from the tournament ahead of the third round.

Thitikul has had 14 top-10 finishes including two wins in 24 events since making her LPGA debut this year.