Golf: Cho becomes new world no.1

Cecilia Cho. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand representative Cecilia Cho is officially the best amateur golfer in the world.

The 16-year-old, currently playing the Queen Sirikit Cup in India where New Zealand lie fourth heading into the final round, moved from No 2 to overtake Japan's Mitsuki Katahira into the top place in the world amateur golf rankings.

Cho, who amassed a phenomenal 15 titles in 2009, is the first woman from New Zealand to hold that mantle.

She follows in the footsteps of Danny Lee, who achieved the feat in the men's rankings following his success in the States that included winning the US Amateur in 2008.

Cho, who won the Australian Strokeplay title in 2010, became the first New Zealander to win the Riversdale Cup recently in Melbourne after a long record of success on the local scene.

At the age of 14 she won the 2009 New Zealand amateur championship at Titirangi and successfully defended her title the following year at Bridge Pa in Hastings, the first golfer to do so since Australian Lorraine Lambert in 1991-1992.

Later that year Cho was a member of the New Zealand team that finished eighth in the Espirito Santo world team championships in 2010.

The Korean-born New Zealander took up golf when she was eight years old and visited a golf range with a friend because she had nothing else to do.

Meanwhile, Cho's Queen Sirikit teammate Lydia Ko, who finished runner up to Cho at the Riversdale Cup, has dropped one place to be the fourth best amateur in the world.

The 13-year-old Ko, who recently tied for fourth in the Pegasus New Zealand Women's Open, will be surprised to drop a place after a string of good performances.

In the male ranks, New Zealand No 1 Ben Campbell climbs one place to hold 16th on the world amateur golf rankings.

Ryan Fox has climbed 24 positions to be in the top 200 (197), Bradley Kendall has dropped 19 places (330) while Tane Robson has moved up 252 places (488) and Joshua Munn has jumped 478 places to 632.

The Korean-born New Zealander, who took up golf when she was eight years old and visited a golf range with a friend because she had nothing else to do, eight years later is the best female amateur in the world.