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WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Top-ranked amateur Lydia Ko has chosen an unusual method to announce her decision to turn professional at the age of 16 and after foregoing more than $1 million in potential prize money. Bryan Walters Seahawks Jersey . Ko, ranked No. 4 in the world, chose not to hold a formal news conference but released a short, scripted video in which she debates the merits of turning professional with the All Blacks rugby player Israel Dagg. The video shows Dagg losing to Ko in a golf match, then telling her: "If you can beat me, then you can definitely handle the pressure of going pro. It must be time now." Ko nods and replies: "Okay, Ill do it ... right now, right this second." Ko alerted her Twitter followers to the video and her decision by posting "made a monumental decision today with a little help from my @AllBlacks friend @Izzy--Dagg #LOVEGolf." New Zealand Golf chief executive Dean Murphy said Ko "was reluctant to hold a traditional press conference" because she "didnt want to make a big fuss about news that had already been reported in the media in recent weeks." "This is a very momentous day for Lydia and we are so thrilled that she has chosen such a unique and entertaining way to share her news with her fans today," Murphy said. "She has also been very busy studying for exams and wanted to make this announcement in a different way." The LPGA Tour confirmed Oct. 10 that it received a petition from Ko asking that it waive its minimum age requirement of 18. Ko was born in South Korea but moved to New Zealand with her parents and took up golf aged five. She first took lessons at Aucklands Pupuke Golf Club from professional Guy Wilson, who has been her coach ever since. She was the worlds leading female amateur in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and became the youngest person, male or female, to win a professional tournament when she won the 2012 New South Wales Open at the age of 14. That record has since been broken. Ko was also the youngest winner of an LPGA tournament when, aged 15, she won the 2012 Canadian Open, a title she defended this year. She has yet to miss a cut in 23 professional tournaments. After finishing runnerup at the Evian Championships in France in July, Ko hinted that she would be turning professional but said she wished to complete exams before making any announcement. She is expected to play for the first time as a professional in the LPGAs season-ending event in Florida. Murphy said Kos career as an amateur "has been phenomenal." "Her amateur record ranks right up there among the greats of the game," Murphy said. "She has won four (tour) titles, claimed the U.S. and Australian Amateur titles, climbed to No.4 on the World Rankings and has been the World No. 1 amateur for more than two years without ever losing that title. "That is a record that is unlikely to be matched by a 16-year-old ever again." K.J. Wright Seahawks Jersey .com) - Alabama and Florida State were predictably the top two teams in the latest installment of the BCS standings. Dan Connolly Patriots Jersey . Neureuther beat Fritz Dopfer for a German 1-2 finish, and overtook Marcel Hirscher on top of the slalom standings by five points with one race remaining. On his way to Munich airport for his flight to Sochi on Feb. DETROIT -- The Boston Bruins took full advantage of Detroits mistakes, and their stellar goaltenders flawless performance. Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Caron scored in the first period after the Red Wings had miscues on the ice and Tuukka Rask finished with a 23-save shutout, giving Boston a 3-0 win over the Red Wings and a 2-1 series lead in their first-round series. Patrice Bergeron added an empty-net goal late in the third period, sealing the lopsided game. The Presidents Trophy-winning Bruins are ahead in the series for the first time. And, it seems like a commanding lead the way they have played the past two games. "I would never say that," Boston coach Claude Julien insisted. Detroit has to win Game 4 on Thursday night to avoid facing elimination when the series shifts back to Boston. Jimmy Howard made 31 saves for the Red Wings, who needed him to make what appeared to be a routine stop midway through the first period on the first goal. Hamiltons wrist shot from the top of the right circle beat Howards glove on a power play after Detroit had too many men on the ice. "That goal cant go in," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "They were better than us all night, but we gave them two goals." The Red Wings didnt have enough players in position to stop the second goal. After a poorly timed line change, Caron was all alone in front of the net and scored off a rebound created by Shawn Thorntons shot. "Once I turned around and got to the blue line, I saw there was a lot of ice," Thornton said. Detroit had a 5-on-3 power play for 35 seconds midway through the second period and could not take advantage. The Red Wings had perhaps their best chance early in the third period, but Rask made a sprawling stop to get his glove on Justin Abdelkaders shot. "Just tried to track it down and leave the rebound to someone else," Rask said. Detroit did not have many other opportunities against Rask, who ended up with his fourth career playoff shutout. The Red Wings had a power play midway through the third period and got only one shot to Rask, whose teammates prevented the puck from getting to him by putting their bodies and sticks in the way all night. Hugh Thornton Colts Jersey. "Thats part of our defensive game," Julien said. "Guys arent afraid to block shots." The Red Wings pulled Howard to have an extra skater late in the game, but failed to dump the puck deep into the Boston end. Bergeron made a long shot into an empty net with 1:59 left to make it 3-0. Since the Red Wings won Game 1 on Pavel Datsyuks goal late in the third period, they have been outscored 7-1. "It hasnt been easy, lets not kid ourselves," Julien said. "Weve been fortunate enough in the last two games to get leads. Were not going to talk about a comfortable situation because until you win that fourth game, it never is." Detroit did not have one of its top forwards, Daniel Alfredsson, because of a back ailment and is still without two key players, captain Henrik Zetterberg and defenceman Jonathan Ericsson, because of injuries. Even with all three of those players and a 100 per cent healthy Pavel Datsyuk, who is playing with a banged-up left knee, Boston simply might be too tough to beat. The defending Eastern Conference and 2011 Stanley Cup champions are big, strong, fast and talented. Boston proved that during the regular season, leading the NHL with 117 points, and has shown how dominant it can be after losing the closely contested Game 1. "Theyve responded since then and weve had no push back in the last two games," Babcock lamented. NOTES: Boston had D Matt Bartkowski in the lineup after the flu led to him missing both games in Boston. He replaced Andrej Meszaros, who appeared to be a healthy scratch. ... Former Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov attended the game. ... Hamilton, drafted No. 9 overall three years ago, scored his first playoff goal and Caron, a first-round pick in 2009, had his first post-season point. ... Detroits fans jeered and booed Boston F Milan Lucic, who was fined $5,000 by the NHL for spearing Detroit D Danny DeKeyser in Game 1. wholesale nfl jerseys cheap jerseys from china' ' ' |
