The LPGA Tour this year is ablaze with Korean women's golf. With six of the scheduled 31 tournaments completed, Korean women golfers have claimed three victories — a 50% win rate. The protagonist leading Korean women's golf's resurgence is Kim Hyo-joo, the only player with multiple wins this season after back-to-back victories at the Fortinet Founders Cup and the Ford Championship. An intriguing fact is that Kim points to "a driving distance increase of more than 15 yards" as the foremost change in her game compared to last year. Last year, Kim ranked 135th in driving distance at 247.36 yards. This year, she has climbed inside the top 100 at 96th with 264.47 yards. While Kim's distance gains are clearly the result of hard work, the current LPGA driving distance rankings are in utter chaos — riddled with abnormal rankings that defy expectations.
To start, Hwang Yu-min, an LPGA rookie who ranked sixth in driving distance on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour last year, currently sits one spot below Kim Hyo-joo. Hwang, averaging 264.27 yards, is tied for 97th with Lucy Li of the United States — just 0.2 yards shorter than Kim.
