Golf: Cho charges up rankings

Cecilia Cho has catapulted 242 places to 312th on the world list. Photo / Christine Cornege

Cecilia Cho will have momentum on her side when she begins the €200,000 New Zealand Women's Open golf championship today.

The Auckland amateur enters the third edition of the Ladies European Tour (LET) event at Pegasus fresh from a tie for fifth in the Ladies Masters on Queensland's Gold Coast where she finished seven shots behind the winner, Taiwanese professional Yani Tseng.

Their performances have had a significant impact on their world respective rankings, with Tseng now at No 1 and 16-year-old Cho catapulting herself 242 places to 312th.

The women's rankings include both professional and amateurs, unlike the men's which feature only those who derive a living from playing the game.

At present there is no rankings system for amateur women although that is to change this month when the Royal and Ancient in Scotland launches a women's rankings list to complement that already in place for the amateur men.

Cho and her New Zealand amateur teammate Lydia Ko are both expected to challenge for top 10 status when the women's list is revealed for the first time.

Ko is this country's best ranked female at 251st, a heady position for a 13-year-old whose ranking has been earned from just three appearances in professional tournaments.

Ko, another Korean-born Aucklander who tied for seventh at the New Zealand tournament here a year ago, is coming off an outstanding fortnight across the Tasman where she was second in the New South Wales Women's Open and 12th among the LET stars and quality Asian players at the Women's Australian Open.

- NZPA