World No. 1 amateur Lydia Ko is part of a glamour grouping that will tee off early in the first round of the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open hosted by Christchurch. The young Kiwi star will be joined by world No. 19 ranked Angela Stanford (USA) and Europe’s No 1 ranked Carlota Ciganda (Spain) in the opening round of the 54-hole tournament which is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Australian Ladies Professional Golf.... more ....

While Pamplona is best known for the running of the bulls, there’s an elegant golfer from that famous Spanish city who is fast charging to the top of the sport.

After just one year in the professional ranks the 22-year-old Carlota Ciganda is already Europe’s No 1 although she is not overly confident of her chances this week in the ISPS Handa NZ Women’s Open hosted by Christchurch.... more....

French golfer Gwladys Nocera, the inaugural ISPS Handa NZ Women’s Open Champion, is an unabashed rugby fan who even backed the All Blacks victory in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The 37-year-old is back after an absence of three years with the championship returning to Clearwater Golf Club where Nocera won the first NZ Open, one of her 11 professional victories, coming to Christchurch then as the reigning European No.1 ranked player.... more....

World No.1 amateur Lydia Ko has been at Clearwater for over a week preparing for this week’s ISPS Handa NZ Women’s Open hosted by Christchurch.

The 15-year-old from the Gulf Harbour Country Club was offered a place in the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters on the Gold Coast last week but turned it down to spend more time practicing.

She leads the Kiwi challenge this week alongside the likes of professionals Cathryn Bristow, Caroline Bon, Phillis Meti and Marnie McGuire.... more....

Swedish major champion Anna Nordqvist said that coming to New Zealand has always been on her bucket list. Coming new places always excites the Swede and she can’t wait to tee it up in the world-class field at the Clearwater Golf Club in the ISPS Handa NZ Women’s Open hosted by Christchurch from February 8 – 10. “I have never been to New Zealand before but it is one of those places that I always wanted to go to,” said the down-to-earth 25-year-old.... more....

World No.1 amateur Lydia Ko leads the amateur charge at this week’s ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open hosted by Christchurch.

There are a total of nine amateurs playing at Clearwater this week from February 8 – 10 through various points of the qualification criteria.

Ko, Wellington No.1 Julianne Alvarez, Auckland sisters Munchin Keh and Wenyung Keh and Sarah Bradley all qualified as the top five places from the Order of Merit from 2012.

Kate Chadwick, from the Napier Golf Club, secured her place when she defeated Te Rongopai Clay in the NZ Maori Championship at the Taupo Golf Club.... more....

Five Korean professionals dominated the Final Qualifying event for the ISPS Handa NZ Women’s Open hosted by Christchurch today in testing conditions at the Christchurch Golf Club. Twenty four golfers were playing for the six remaining places in the fifth edition of the national championship to be staged at the Clearwater Golf Club which tees off this Thursday.

Heiji Kim (Macleans Island) won the event by two shots when she carded a seven under par 67 to secure her place in style. Kim made eight birdies and a bogey to finish two ahead of fellow Korean pro Min Sun Kim who signed for a five under par 69. Laura Hoskin, who starred for Otago in the Toro Women’s Interprovincial last year at St Clair, was the sole Kiwi to make the cut.... more....

World No.1 amateur Lydia Ko had a season to behold in 2012. Everywhere she went around the globe she turned heads with her performances and attracted praise from the world’s best golfers. We asked a handful of the leading professionals coming to Clearwater this week what they made of her record breaking 2012 season.

Laura Davies – 2010 NZ Women’s Open champion, winner of 82 titles worldwide
It is incredible and I don’t think that there will be another golfer like Lydia. What she achieved last year was just phenomenal. Golfers just don’t do that when they are 15.... more....

There is no doubt that Lydia Ko will be the most talked about golfer at Clearwater this week.

The World No.1 amateur, who is World No.38 on the pro rankings after only playing 11 professional events, will once again be the leading New Zealand hope in a world-class field at the ISPS Handa NZ Women’s Open hosted by Christchurch.

The Pinehurst School student, who recently finished runner-up in her title defence of the NSW Open by two shots to Caroline Hedwall, missed the Australian Masters to be fresh and ready for this week.... more....

Australian Karrie Webb has won the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters for an incredible eighth time and in doing so she equals Sam Snead’s record of winning the same event eight times.

Snead won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times in a run spanning four decades.  Webb first won at RACV Royal Pines in 1998 and her most recent victory was in 2010.... more....

American Cheyenne Woods took some time out after her second round of the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters to meet Australia’s native wildlife at Currumbin Sanctuary just south of Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.

Woods had a fantastic time, commenting: “The Wildlife Park was so much fun!”

“I couldn't believe how big it was and we were able to get up close and personal with the animals.”... more....

One of the fastest growing recreational activities in Australia is Stand-up Paddle boarding or SUP. From a physiotherapy perspective, SUP is a great way to strengthen your “core”, improve your upper and lower body strength and conditioning, challenge your balance and control, and improve your fitness - all in one activity!

The term “core stability” has been the catch phrase of the last 10 years for anyone interested in improving their abdominal strength. However, there is so much more to the equation than simply improving abdominal strength. The region between the bottom of the rib cage and the top of the pelvis is controlled by a multitude of muscles that act in different directions and different ways. Even the diaphragm plays a role! ... more....