Jenny Bae cracks top 50 in LPGA for first time, makes Solheim push

Jenny Bae climbed 23 spots in the Rolex Rankings after taking a share of third at the Mizuho Americas Open. It marked a third career top-5 finish for the Georgian, who now ranks 49th in the world. Bae, who closed with a 66 on Sunday in New Jersey, has climbed a total of 37 spots in her second year on tour.

In nine starts this season, Bae has five top-25 finishes. It's no wonder U.S. Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford invited her to a gathering of potential players at Juli Inkster's house ahead of the Fortinet Founders Cup near San Francisco.

The petite but powerful Bae, who grew up on a chicken farm in tiny Maysville, Georgia, won the Juli Inkster Award as the nation's top golfer in her final season of eligibility at the University of Georgia.

Another young American making moves is LPGA rookie Melanie Green, last year's Epson Tour Player of the Year. Green has a pair of top-10 finishes this season and a T-20 last week at Mizuho. The former Curtis Cup player and British Amateur champion has jumped 91 spots in the Rolex Rankings since the year started. She's currently 119th.

Green also grew up in small-town America, coming out of Medina, New York, to become the first American in 28 years to win the British Amateur at Portmarnock Golf Club in Ireland.

“The way she carried herself on the golf course, it was palpably different than her fellow competitors,” said former University of South Florida coach Erika Brennan on recruiting Green. “There was an edge to her; there was a want. You could see the fire.”

The top seven players on the U.S. Solheim Cup points list automatically qualify for the team along with the next two players from the Rolex Rankings not already qualified. U.S. captain Angela Stanford then gets three picks.

Bae currently ranks 12th on the points list. Green is 23rd.

In the Rolex Rankings, Lindy Duncan (43rd) and Megan Khang (46th) would qualify off the current standings. Bae is only two spots behind Khang.

Former Solheim Cup players ranked in the top 100 who would need a pick if the team were decided this week: Allisen Corpuz (52nd), Rose Zhang (82nd), Sarah Schmelzel (84th), Lilia Vu (92nd) and Lexi Thompson (95th).

The 2026 Solheim Cup will be held Sept. 11-13 in Denmark at Bernardus Golf. The cutoff for this year's team is Aug. 23 after the completion of the CPKC Women's Open.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Jenny Bae ranked inside top 50 for first time in her LPGA career