On Monday, the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking (WWGR) announced a number of new updates that will take effect on January 5, 2026.
The changes include ranking points awarded to all players who make a cut in a WWGR tournament, regardless of field strength. That has not always been the case. Previously, a tournament’s assigned field strength determined the number of players who would receive ranking points. The change means that players competing on tours with lower field strengths will now receive points if they make the cut.
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The field strength will also transition to a more linear format for point distribution. Previously, tournament fields were assigned a field number strength, and points were distributed across those fields within a range. (For example, tournaments with a field strength of 154 receive the same points distribution as all tournaments with a field strength ranging from 151-160.) Now the number assigned to a tournament’s field strength directly corresponds to a unique points distribution.
Additionally, WWGR recognized the ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour (WAPT) – a US-based developmental tour that will host 13 tournaments between April and September – in the rankings from 2026, making it the 13th tour to be included in the rankings. The other 12 tours are:
-China Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour (CLPGA)
-Chinese Taipei Ladies Professional Golf Association (TLPGA)
-Japanese Women’s Professional Golf Association (JLPGA)
-Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association Step Up Tour (JSU)
-Korean Women’s Professional Golf Association (KLPGA)
-Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association Dream Tour (KDT)
-Women’s European Tour (LET)
-Women’s European Tour Access Series (LETAS)
-Women’s Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
-Epson tour (EPSON)
-Thai Women’s Professional Golf Association (THAILPGA)
-Women’s Professional Golf Association Tour of Australasia (WPGAA)
The R&A, which administers the AIG Women’s Open, and the USGA, which organizes the US Women’s Open, are also recognized by the WWGR.
The ANNIKA WAPT offers a direct route to the Epson Tour, which is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour. The top two winners of each ANNIKA WAPT tournament will receive exemptions into select Epson Tour events, and the top winners of the ANNIKA WAPT season-ending Order of Merit will also earn exemptions into the qualifying phase of the LPGA Q-Series. Each year, the Epson Tour’s top fifteen performers earn LPGA Tour cards for the following season.
The ANNIKA WAPT season kicks off on April 8, 2026 with the Lake Charles Championship at L’Auberge in Louisiana.
Golf.com editor
As a four-year member of Columbia’s first class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can beat anyone on the masthead. She can also outshine them in the office, where she is primarily responsible for producing both print and online articles, as well as overseeing major special projects such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Issue, which debuted in February 2018. Her original interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November 2015 and appeared in both magazine and video form on GOLF.com.
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