On Monday, the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking (WWGR) announced a number of new updates that are scheduled to take effect on January 5, 2026.
The changes include awarding ranking points to all players who make a cut in a WWGR tournament, regardless of field strength. It wasn’t always like that. Previously, a tournament’s assigned strength determined the number of players who would receive ranking points. The change means that players competing in tournaments with lower field strength will receive points when they make the cut.
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Field strength will also transition to a more linear format for point distribution. Previously, tournament courses were assigned a hard course number and points were distributed to those courses in a range. (For example, tournaments assigned a field strength of 154 will receive the same point distribution as all tournaments with a field strength ranging from 151-160.) Now, the number assigned to a tournament’s field strength will correspond directly to a unique point distribution.
In addition, WWGR recognized the ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour (WAPT) – a US-based development tour that will host 13 tournaments between April and September – in the Rankings starting in 2026, making it the 13th tour to be included in the Rankings. The other 12 tournaments are:
– China Ladies Professional Golf Association (CLPGA) Tour
– Chinese Taipei Ladies Professional Golf Association (TLPGA)
– Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA)
– Rising Japan Golf Professional Association (JSU) Tour
– Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA)
-Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KDT) Dream Tour
– Women’s European Tour (LET)
-Women’s European Tour Access Series (LETAS)
– Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
-Epson Tour (EPSON)
– Thai Ladies Professional Golf Association (THAILPGA)
– Women’s Golf Association of Australasia (WPGAA) Tour
The R&A, which administers AIG Open for Womenand the USGA, which conducts Women’s US Openare also recognized by WWGR.
ANNIKA WAPT offers a direct route to the Epson Tour, which is the LPGA Tour’s official qualifying tournament. The top two finishers in each ANNIKA WAPT tournament receive exemptions into select Epson Tour events, and the top finishers in the season-ending ANNIKA WAPT Order of Merit also earn exemptions into the LPGA Q-Series Qualifying Stage. Each year, the top 15 performers on the Epson Tour earn LPGA Tour cards for the following season.
The ANNIKA WAPT season will begin with the Lake Charles Championship at L’Auberge in Louisiana on April 8, 2026.
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