Singapore: He may not have long to enjoy the lofty position he now finds himself in, but no-one will ever be able to take away from Taiga Semikawa the fact that he has ascended to number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

Last week, the 21-year-old college student triumphed against the professionals in the Panasonic Open Golf Championship on the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) to rise to second place in the WAGR behind Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg.

In this week’s rankings, issued today, Semikawa has swapped places with Aberg, taking over the top spot with the Swede moving to world number two.

Semikawa is the fourth Japanese to rise to the number one position in the WAGR, following Hideki Matsuyama, Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima.

Nakajima, winner of last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, was the world number one until turning pro following last month’s World Amateur Team Championships for the Eisenhower Trophy in Paris, where he was upstaged by team-mate Semikawa.

However, unlike Nakajima, who held the number one spot in the WAGR for more than a year, it would appear that Semikawa’s tenure will be short-lived.

According to the Japan Golf Association, Semikawa is planning to turn pro on November 10 at the Visa Taiheiyo Championship, one of the showpiece events on the JGTO.

With his victory in the Panasonic Open, Semikawa became only the sixth amateur to win on the JGTO, rising to 522nd from 896th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Meanwhile, based on their performances last week two Japanese players made significant gains in the women’s WAGR.

Sayaka Teraoka soared to 16th place with a 40-ranking rise following her 71st place finish among the professionals in the Japan Women’s Open Golf Championship.

But the biggest ranking improvement of the week was achieved by her compatriot, Ayari Koda. She jumped 1,573 positions to 654th after finishing 45th in the Japan Women’s Open Golf Championship.