Move of the Week goes to Rose Zhang, who jumped 16 places in the world rankings with her victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup. She moved from No. 22 to No. 6 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, marking the American’s first time in the top 10.
The 20-year-old picked up her second win on the LPGA Tour on Sunday at Upper Montclair Country Club, defeating Madelene Sagstrom by two strokes to secure her first win of the season in Clifton, NJ. for the first time in her career and Zhang is on track to represent the United States at the Olympics for the first time in her career.
“I haven’t thought about it much, but I definitely knew that this year I was on the threshold of entering Olympic territory,” said the 20-year-old American. “I think in the first couple of events that came out, I pushed myself a lot to be able to play well, and part of the reason is because I didn’t want to miss the Olympics.
“I’ve been watching it since I was five years old, so to be able to get an inch or so toward that was definitely a goal in previous events. I’ve been doing this event slowly and I haven’t really thought about it. It’s a really cool thing that I’d like to be in. part”.
Zhang broke into the top 75 of the Rolex Rankings when she won in her first professional start at the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open and was ranked in the top 25 after the 2023 CME Group Tour Championship. With her win last week, Zhang jumped from 11th US Solheim Cup Team ranked fifth. He currently sits fifth in the Rolex Player of the Year race, seventh in the Race to the CME Globe standings (765,750 points), fourth in scoring average (70,130) and seventh on the Official Money List with $608,097 in season earnings.
Madelene Sagstrom moves up 28 spots
Madelene Sagstrom made the second-most impressive move in the Rolex rankings, climbing 28 places to No. 34 in the world after falling just short of her second LPGA Tour win at Upper Montclair Country Club. Sagstrom played solidly in Clifton, NJ, finishing the week with a 22-under total and just two shots short of the win.
The Swede has been on the LPGA Tour since 2017 and has amassed 20 career top-10 finishes, including her solo win at the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA in Boca Rio. The 31-year-old compiled four impressive rounds of 65-66-66-69 at the Cognizant Founders Cup and is certainly a confidence booster for Sagstrom as she looks to represent Sweden for a second time at the Paris Olympics, having previously done so in Tokyo. where the T20 ended.
“It’s a sign that I’m doing good things. Everything we’re working on is working and has a lot of improvements,” said the Olympian. “My driving was fantastic this week, which I had struggled with a little while ago.
“I made some nice shots and I was happy with how we were making decisions Shane. It was really a lot of good things that I’ve been working on and I can see the result. It’s not all there, which ever It was good enough to be up there fighting for it , which means it’s been a good week on the golf course.”
But her success last week could be the big moment that propels her up a few spots in the standings, and what a perfect time for her game to be trending with four majors, the Olympics and the Solheim Cup on the horizon.
Gabriela Ruffels returns to the top in the rookie of the year race
Gabriela Ruffels takes the lead in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year rankings after her third solo appearance at the Cognizant Founders Cup, 22 points ahead of Jin Hee Im.
While the Aussie has yet to find victory lane so far this season, aside from a third-place result in Clifton, NJ, Ruffels has also earned three other top-15 finishes in 2024 – a T13 in the Ford Championship featured the KCC, T3 at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship and T15 at the Blue Bay LPGA.
Ruffels climbed 24 places in the Rolex rankings to No. 59 in the world, the highest she has ever been in her young career. The Epson Tour graduate is no stranger to the winner’s circle, having recorded wins on the 2023 Epson Tour at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic, the Garden City Charity Classic and the Four Winds Invitational.
The LPGA Tour rookie finished first in the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card last year to win membership for the 2024 season and won Epson Tour Player of the Year honors, which is no surprise given that she has continued to shine on LPGA Tour.
The Epson Tour’s Race for the Card continues in Utah
The Race for the Card continues as the Epson Tour wraps up in the Bee State for the final event in four weeks out West, with players chasing 500 points as they pursue their LPGA Tour cards in Utah.
Madison remains atop the standings with 712,500 points after her first Epson Tour win at the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic and a tie for fifth at last week’s Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic. Epson Tour rookie Briana Chacon moved from No. 6 to second with a T18 finish in Scottsdale, Ariz., with a 595 points.
Jessica Peng is in third place with 588,000 points, while Juliana Hung moves from No. 5 to No. 4 with 584,150 points after finishing T37 at TPC Scottsdale – Champions Course. Rounding out the top five is Valery Plata, with 577 points, who earned a win at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.
Some other major moves after the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic are as follows:
- Ruixin Liu dropped from 124th to eighth in the race after her victory in Scottsdale, Ariz., and has a total of 507 points
- Mariel Galdiano, who finished second at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic, moved from 29th to 10th with 491,200 total points
- Dana Fall moves up to 22nd place with 267,200 total points after strong showing at TPC Scottsdale – Champions Course
The Fight for the card is a season-long points competition in which Epson Tour members accumulate points at each official Epson Tour tournament. The ultimate goal is to finish in the top 15 in the standings to earn an LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season. The points-based system, new to the Epson Tour this season, replaces the money-based system and will award points to those they make the cut weekly.
The 2024 season will also be the first year Epson Tour players will compete for 15 LPGA Tour cards. They will be awarded after the season-ending Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, California, this fall.
