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NZ amateur golfer Cecilia Cho - Source: Photosport
New Zealand representative Cecilia Cho is officially the best amateur golfer in the world.
The 16-year-old, who is currently playing the Queen Sirikit Cup in India where the Kiwis are in fourth place heading into the final round, moved from number two to overtake Japan's Mitsuki Katahira into the top place in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
The Women's Amateur Rankings was only added by the Royal & Ancient a week and a half ago and Cho is the first woman from New Zealand to hold that mantle.
Cho, who amassed a phenomenal 15 titles in 2009, has been on a consistent path to become the game's top ranked female amateur.
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.
The Pakuranga Club Member, 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 - becoming the first golfer to do so since Australian Lorraine Lambert achieved that feat in 1991-1992.
Later that year she was a member of the New Zealand team that finished eighth in the Espirito Santo World Team Championships in 2010.
New Zealand has some ground to make up to catch the runaway leaders Korea in the Queen Sirikit Cup (14 shots), who are looking for their fifth title in succession, but this news overnight in Delhi will be cause for celebration.
Meanwhile her Queen Sirikit team-mate 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 placed T4th 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 the New Zealand number one Ben Campbell climbs one place to hold no.16 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 a phenomenal 478 places to 632.
But the big news today belongs to Cho - the toast of New Zealand Golf.
The Korean-born Kiwi, who took up golf when she was eight years old and visited a golf range with a Korean friend because she had nothing else to do, eight years later is the best female amateur in the world.
