Tseng solidly No. 1 as LPGA season starts

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Yani Tseng is ranked No. 1 in women's golf, a position she has held for a year, as the LPGA season begins.

The schedule starts this week at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open. While the event has been contested annually since 1994, this is the first year it's part of the LPGA schedule.

After that tournament, the tour heads to the Honda LPGA Thailand.

Tseng is a two-time LPGA player of the year.

The Taiwanese star has won the Women's Australian Open twice in a row and won the LPGA Thailand event last year.

She has a huge lead in the world rankings with a points average of 16.25. Suzann Pettersen (9.32) and Choi Na-yeon (9.13) are second and third, respectively. Cristie Kerr opens the season in fourth with an average of 8.94, with Paula Creamer fifth at 7.47.

Ahn Ju-ahn's average of 7.23 has her in sixth and Jiyai Shin (6.77) comes in seventh. Kim In-kyung is eighth at 6.23, with No. 9 Brittany Lincicome at 6.12 and Stacy Lewis taking 10th with an average of 6.06.