Golf: Lydia Ko's on top of the world

Lydia Ko acknowledges applause from the gallery at the Golden Ocala club in Florida. Photo / AP

Record setter always destined for greatness, say her contemporaries.

After putting herself in a position to win the Coates Golf Championship in Florida yesterday, Lydia Ko made a rare mistake on the 17th hole for a double bogey and finished the tournament in a tie for second.

A substantial consolation for the 17-year-old New Zealander, however, was that she did enough to become the top-ranked women's golfer in the world. In doing so she became the youngest player, male or female, to reach the top ranking - breaking the record set by Tiger Woods by almost four years.

In an interview after she scrambled par on the 18th to finish alongside Jessica Korda and Ha Na Jang for second behind Korean Na Yeon Choi, Ms Ko said the news that she had reached the top ranking eased her disappointment.

"I think it was my agent or my Mum who told me after I signed my scorecard," she said. "I was like, really? I didn't know what was going to happen - I don't really know how the rankings work.

"Today I was just trying to focus on hitting good shots. That's all I can do really out there. Obviously I didn't win ... but I still got that world No1 ranking so that's pretty awesome."

Ms Ko led by four shots on the front nine and trailed Choi by a shot as they played the par-3 15th. With Choi facing a 6-footer for birdie, Ms Ko slammed in an improbable 60-footer and Choi promptly three-putted for a two-shot swing. The teenager's lead didn't last long. Ms Ko drove into a fairway bunker, then hit a hybrid shot into a stand of pine trees down the right side of the 17th hole, scrambling to make a double bogey.

As Choi finished with a 4-under 68 and 16-under total, Ms Ko had to salvage a par on the 18th to finish in a three-way tie at 15 under, but it was good enough to secure her place in the record books.

Woods, previously the youngest golfer to reach No1, was 21 years, 5 months, 16 days when he reached the top in 1997. Ms Ko reached the mark 3 years, 8 months, 14 days earlier. The men's rankings date to 1986 and the women's list is nine years old.

Ms Ko was sporting a tattoo on her right wrist with the Roman numerals IV-XXVII-XIV - depicting the date of April 27, 2014, the day she won her first professional tournament.

Ms Ko, until recently made mention of her disappointment at failing to win, but it's doubtful she would have been angry at how her round went.

Her swing coach David Leadbetter said his client didn't really know the meaning of the word. "We sent her to anger management school to learn how to get angry," he laughed.

She finished with a 71 to match Ms Korda (66) and Ms Jang (70) at 15 under and picked up a cheque for US$104,587 ($144,248) in prize money.

Ms Ko, who won her first tour title as an amateur at 15, the youngest in tour history, and turned professional at the end of 2013, has always been destined for greatness according to her contemporaries.

"I can't say I'm surprised," American Stacy Lewis, a former top ranked player and two-time major winner, said of the new No1. "It was just a matter of time".

- Additional reporting AP