The Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings will introduce significant changes to its system starting in 2026. The modifications to the women’s ranking will come into effect from the update on 5 January, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the women’s world ranking, which debuted in February 2006 with Annika Sorenstam as the first world number one.
Two decades later, the main novelty will be precisely the incorporation of the Swedish legend’s tour into the scoring system. Starting with the Lake Charles Regional Sports Authority Championship, scheduled for April 2026, tournaments of the ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour (WAPT) will begin awarding points for the world ranking. It will be the thirteenth recognised tour and the first to be added since the inclusion of the Thai LPGA in 2023.
Beyond the ranking, the ANNIKA WAPT has established itself in recent years as a direct and structured pathway to the LPGA Tour. Each week, the top two finishers of each tournament receive exemptions to compete in selected events of the Epson Tour, the main development tour for women’s golf in the United States, featuring thirteen events spread between April and August, accessible to both professional players and players within the top 400 of the amateur ranking.
The best-placed players at the end of the season in the ANNIKA WAPT Order of Merit gain direct access to the second stage of the LPGA Tour Q-Series qualification, a key step on the path to the top tier.
Several players developed in this ecosystem have already achieved victories on the LPGA Tour, including Grace Kim, Bailey Tardy, and Miranda Wang, clear examples of a system that functions as a competitive springboard and not just as a transitional circuit.
Sorenstam, who announced an official partnership with the tour in 2023, has celebrated its inclusion in the world ranking as recognition of the work done and the quality of the tour.
Alongside the expansion of tours, the women’s Rolex Ranking will introduce some changes to its scoring system. Notably, all players who make the cut in a ranking tournament will receive points, regardless of the field strength, which was not the case until now.
