Taipei, Chinese Taipei: Hou Yu-chiang has made golfing history by reaching the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) for women.
She is the first woman from Taipei to reach the number one spot. Hou joins Pan Cheng-tsung as only the second Taipei player to hold the position as the world’s best amateur. Pan, now plying his trade on the PGA Tour, was the number one player in the men’s ranking for eight weeks in 2013.
Hou took over the top spot with a one-ranking rise after a 10th place finish in the Yichen Future Open, a professional tournament in her homeland.
Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad improved two places to world number two while French player Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, who held the top position until last week, dropped down to third.
Hou finished tied for 29th in the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club in 2018 and was 17th in last year’s WAAP at Japan’s The Royal Club.
Meanwhile, Korean Hwang You-min emerged as the dominant player in the 24th Maekyung Sollago Cup Amateur Golf Championship in her homeland.
She was the only player to break 200 for the three rounds. Rounds of 65, 67 and 66 gave her an 18-under aggregate of 198 and a four-shot victory. With that success, she jumped 110 spots to 431st on the WAGR.
