New Zealand teen becomes youngest pro winner

Monday, 30 January 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Lydia Ko, a South Korea-born 14-year-old amateur from New Zealand, has become the youngest winner of a professional golf tournament with her four-stroke victory in the women’s New South Wales Open on Sunday.

Japan’s Rory Ishikawa held the previous mark, winning on the Japan Golf Tour when he was 15 years and eight months.

“It’s pretty amazing. I don’t really know what to say,” the bespectacled Ko, who turns 15 on April 24, told reporters.

“I’m really happy and to be part of history is like a miracle. It’s not something you can have by clicking your fingers.”

Ko signed off with a bogey-free three-under-par 69 to finish 14-under for the tournament at the Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG) event.

Wales’ Becky Morgan finished second with a sensational final round of six-under-par 66 at the Oatlands course in Sydney.

It was redemption for the world’s leading amateur Ko who narrowly missed the title last year when her three putts on the final green gave Caroline Hedwall a one-shot stroke victory. “It was really nerve-wracking. I had a few deep breaths out there (on the 18th hole). I was nervous until the last second. (I was) thinking of last year and I looked back and there were so many people watching,” Ko said.