Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings 43/2026

Ruoning Yin has won the Buick LPGA Shanghai and moves up one place to number 5 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings with 281.66 in 38 events.

The top-5 in Shanghai

Korean Hye-Jin Choi finished second behind the Chinese player and moves up four places to 23 this week.  Compatriot Amy Yang came third and moves up fourteen places to 58, Japan’s Rio Takeda was fourth and moves up two places to 33 and finally Spain’s Carlota Ciganda finished fifth and moves up one place to 66.

Related: Ruoning Yin Overtakes Hye-Jin Choi to Win the 2026 Buick LPGA Shanghai

A four-foot birdie at the 16th broke a back-nine deadlock at Sheshan, handing China's Yin a second Shanghai title and back-to-back wins.

What Are the Rolex Rankings?

The Rolex Rankings are the official world rankings of women’s professional golf. Points are based on where a player finishes and how strong the field was. Her total over a rolling two-year period is then divided by the number of events she played to produce an average, and that average decides her world ranking.

Who sanctions the Rolex Rankings?

Thirteen women’s professional tours sanction the rankings:

• ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour (WAPT)
• China Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour (CLPGA)
• Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA)
• KLPGA Dream Tour (KDT)
• Ladies European Tour (LET)
• Ladies European Tour Access Series (LETAS)
• Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
• Epson Tour
• Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA)
• JLPGA Step Up Tour (JSU)
• Chinese Taipei Ladies Professional Golf Association (TLPGA)
• Thai Ladies Professional Golf Association (THAILPGA)
• Women’s Professional Golf Association Tour of Australasia (WPGA)

Two governing bodies sit alongside them. The R&A administers the AIG Women’s Open, and the USGA conducts the US Women’s Open presented by Ally.

The tours run the events and feed every result into one global table, so a top-10 finish in Japan or Korea can be weighed against one on the LPGA Tour or the LET.

Where did the rankings come from and who can be ranked?

The idea of a unified world ranking for women was agreed by the leaders of the five major women’s professional tours at the inaugural World Congress of Women’s Golf in May 2004. The LGU later joined, and it merged its business operations with the R&A in January 2017.

Any woman golfer, professional or amateur, who has competed in an eligible event can be ranked. A leading amateur who plays her way into a professional field, or contends at a major, can therefore earn a world ranking before she ever turns pro.

Why do the Rolex Rankings matter?

Each sanctioning tour uses the rankings to set eligibility criteria for selected events.

On the LPGA Tour, the Rolex Rankings are one of the entry criteria for the HSBC Women’s World Championship and all five majors: The Chevron Championship, the US Women’s Open presented by Ally, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, The Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s Open.

A strong run on the KLPGA, JLPGA or LET can carry a player into those fields. Where a player sits on the list can decide whether she tees it up at the majors at all.

The top-200 in the rankings