Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn seizes world No 1 spot

Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn has seized the world No 1 ranking from New Zealand's Lydia Ko despite neither lifting a club in the LPGA ShopRite Classic.

Ryu So-Yeon, ranked third in the world, had a chance to leapfrog Ariya by finishing third or better in the tournament in Galloway, New Jersey, but missed the cut on Saturday.

She fired back-to-back rounds of three-over 74 to miss the second-round cut in the 54-hole tournament, where South Korea's Kim In-Kyung and American Paula Creamer shared the 36-hole lead.

Ko slips from the summit after 84 consecutive weeks at the top. She's been ranked No 1 for 103 weeks overall.

Ariya becomes the 10th player to reach No 1 since the women's rankings were introduced in 2006 and the first from Thailand.

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Both Kim and Creamer signed for four-under-par 67s. Kim, seeking a fifth LPGA title and her first since a win in China in October had six birdies and two bogeys.

She closed out her round with back-to-back birdies and said she's feeling "even stronger" after a winter spent rehabbing injuries suffered in a freak fall down some stairs.

She's played just half a dozen tournaments in 2017 and said: "This winter I didn't have any break, I needed some time to get ready for the summer. I'm really happy to get back."

Creamer posted five birdies and a bogey, and kept her share of the lead with an up and down for par at her final hole, the ninth -- where her second shot landed left of the green and she took an unplayable lie.

"I've only had one bogey in the last two days," Creamer said. "I've missed just three greens today. I've given myself a lot of opportunities and I like playing a little tougher conditions.

"Today was definitely different wind than yesterday," she added. "There were some good pins out there that we had to kind of think about a bit. I played solid. I hit some good putts that didn't go in and made some good putts that went in."

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The leading duo were two strokes in front of two-time defending champion Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, South Korea's Lee Jeong-Eun and Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn -- playing as her sister Ariya takes the week off.

Nordqvist carded an even par 71 and said she'd be aggressive on Sunday in seeking a third-straight title.

"I feel like I'm hitting the shots I need to hit," Nordqvist said. "(It's) just a matter of making a few more putts.I have nothing to lose tomorrow. I obviously like this track, so I'm excited."