Published July 17, 2008 on September 30, 2021

AGLF Unveils New Golf Ranking System with Rising KLPGA Star Park Min Ji Taking the Early Lead

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The Asia Golf Leaders Forum’s (AGLF) goal to drive women’s golf in the region remains firmly on track with the new Ladies Asian Tour (LAT) golf ranking system ready to be rolled out.
 

At the end of the season, the player with the best score in the LAT Series ranking system will be crowned the LAT Series ‘Asian Player of the Year’ and aptly nicknamed the ‘Asian Golf Queen’.
 

The award, which will be presented at a year-end forum with the participation of all AGLF members, will also share the stage with other accolades such as biggest prize money won, best scoring average, longest drive and rookie-of-the-year.
 

Achievement awards and plaques of appreciation will also be given to associated companies and golf associations of respective countries, who will be inducted into the Asian Golf Hall of Fame to develop the LAT Series further.
 

First introduced at the 35th DB Group Korea Ladies Open in June for the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, the LAT Series ranking system grants specific points according to the performance of participating players at each LAT Series tournament.
 

The LAT Series ranking system applies to players of Asian nationality who are either playing on an Asian tour or the LPGA Tour. Priority is given to players from the following 12 countries – Korea, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan. However, the number of participating countries is likely to increase in the future.
 

If non-Asian players participate in a LAT Series tournament, they can join as ‘special members.’ To further promote Asian women’s golf, players such as Korean American Yealimi Noh, Danielle Kang, and Jessica Korda will be considered special members.
 

When the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings were first announced in February 2006, there were only 243 Asian Pacific players out of 527 players. Since then, that number has increased almost fourfold in 2021. A recent study conducted by AGLF showed that there are now 924 Asian Pacific players out of 1,488, with the ratio rising from 46.1% to 62.1%.
 

Among the top ten players in the world rankings announced on August 31st, seven players, including Jin-young Ko (second) and Inbee Park (third), are of Asian nationality. 12 players inside the top 20 (60%), 29 players in the top 50 (58%) and 60 players in the top 100 (60%) are Asian nationals.
 

The LAT Series rankings are updated weekly by combining any world rankings gained with those from the LAT Series. If there is no LAT Series event during a given week, only changes to the world rankings apply.
 

As there are not many tournaments in the LAT Series yet, prize earnings or world rankings are not considered. Instead, points are distributed uniformly, awarded to participating players and those who have made the cut in the LAT Series tournament. Scores from LAT Series tournaments will be added to the already existing world ranking points.
 

Park explained: “From 2022, the second year of its implementation, the LAT Series ranking system of Asian women players will allow for various promotion and international level competition. Through these efforts, we hope to promote long-term growth and development of Asian golf and help create a place where countries in the Pacific can come together and have harmonious exchanges through golf.”