Kerr nearing women's golf No. 1 spot

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Cristie Kerr edged closer to top-ranked Ai Miyazato in the women's world golf rankings released Monday.

Miyazato has been atop the rankings for the last nine weeks -- the longest stretch for one player at No. 1 since Lorena Ochoa retired in April -- but is barely ahead of Kerr, whom Miyazato replaced at No. 1 on Aug. 23. Miyazato has a 10.9 average rating compared to Kerr's 10.81.

Kerr finished in a tie for fifth at the LPGA's CVS/pharmacy in Danville, Calif. But she was one of only two Top 10 players who entered the event. The other was Paula Creamer, whose tie for 25th contributed to her drop from 10th to 11th in the rankings.

After Miyazato and Kerr, is Jiyai Shin, with an average of 10.74 points while Yani Tseng (10.4) slipped past Suzann Pettersen (10.36) for fourth, dropping Pettersen into fifth.

Choi Na-yeon retained the No. 6 spot and Michelle Wei remains ranked seventh. But Kim Song-hee moved up to eighth, pushing Kim In-kyung to ninth. Ahn Sun-ju moved from 12th to 10th, forcing Creamer from the Top 10.