LYDIA KO (16) READY FOR LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE

                                LYDIA KO .... her 18th professional tournament (and she's still an amateur!)

 FROM THE STUFF.CO.NZ SERVICE
Teen golf star Lydia Ko is bracing herself for one of her toughest challenges yet at the LPGA Championship in New York starting today.
The 16-year-old Kiwi took one look at the Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford and declared it the narrowest course she's seen, ahead of her fourth attempt to become the youngest winner in major history.
But that should play into Ko's hands; the world's top-ranked amateur and No 22 in the overall female rankings is renowned for her precise ball striking.
"It's a very tough course," said the youngest winner in professional golf history.
"It is the narrowest course I've ever played on. The rough is tricky as well. It's about hitting the fairways on this course.''
Ko is playing in her 18th professional tournament and has yet to miss a cut. She is famous for being the youngest winner on the Australian, European and United States LPGA tours.
American Morgan Pressel was the youngest women's winner in major history when she claimed the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship at the age of 18 years, 10 months and nine days and Ko will be gunning for that record when she tees off today.
She will play alongside Japanese professional Mitsuki Katahira and American glamour girl Michelle Wie.
Ko is much more comfortable playing big tournaments this year after her stellar season in 2012 but there is always a weight of expectation on her.
''Every tournament makes me both nervous and excited. I know I will be nervous from the first tee on Thursday. But being nervous is good.
''I'm just going to try my best. I don't want to rush things. My first goal is to make the cut. If I finish top 10 in any tournament I am always happy."
If Ko could manage a top-10 finish it would be the best result by a New Zealand woman at a major championship, bettering Lynnette Brooky's tie for 12th at the US Open in 2002. 

ARIYA JUTANUGARN WITHDRAWS

Ariya Jutanugarn has withdrawn from the Wegmans LPGA Championship with a sore right shoulder. The 17-year-old tripped when she ran down the 12th tee box at Locust Hill Country Club chasing older sister, Moriya, with a bottle of water.
“I wanted to try to make her wet,” Jutanugarn said. “My fault.”
Jutanugarn, now 15th in the Rolex Rankings, was on the range late Wednesday afternoon in a sling hitting one-armed shots. She said the doctor told her to rest two to four weeks. No bones were broken. 
Jutanugarn’s next goal: Getting well for the U.S. Women’s Open, to be played June 27-30 at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
Jutanugarn missed last year’s U.S. Women’s Open when she fell on a nail the day before her qualifier.
A rookie on the Ladies European Tour, Jutanugarn had qualified for the four remaining majors. She has two sponsor exemptions left to use but doesn’t have any events lined up. She will continue trying to Monday qualify once her shoulder has healed.
Jutanugarn’s absence certainly knocks some of the wow factor out of the 12:37 p.m. group. She was set to play the first two rounds with 16-year-old amateur Lydia Ko and Michelle Wie. Playing alongside Wie has long been a dream of Ariya’s.
“I tell my sister all the time I really want to play with her,” Jutanugarn said. “I am so sad.”
Two other big-name players bowed out of the Wegmans pro-am with injuries but are still signed up to compete in the main event. Yani Tseng has been a running a fever during the past few days due to inflammation of the tonsils, throat, tongue and gums, according to Tseng’s manager, Naya Hsu. Tseng practised for a short time on Wednesday but spent most of the day resting.
Cristie Kerr tweaked her right arm practising on Tuesday, causing her tendinitis to flare up. Tseng and Kerr hope the time off will lead to quick recoveries.