Lydia Ko knows she's being hunted.
But the world's top-ranked women's golfer doesn't dwell on it.
"I try and not think of it as 'hey, everyone is trying to chase me'," Ko said on Wednesday.
Ko, the favourite for the Australian Open at Royal Adelaide starting Thursday, has been a professional golfer since October 2013.
Remarkably, she has spent about half her pro career as world No.1 - she's held the ranking for the past 68 weeks, after a previous 19-week stint in 2015.
"I have been fortunate enough to be in this position for so long and obviously it takes a lot of hard work and, I think, luck at the same time," Ko said.
But the 19-year-old New Zealander said she felt more internal strain than pressure from rivals to steal her top-billing.
"When we're out there, we're not thinking about what ranked player she is to me, or what I am," Ko said.
"That is important to not get carried away about the awards, the rankings. Because at the end of the day we're all golfers trying to make as many birdies as we can and hopefully hold the trophy at the end of that week.
"That is the mindset I have been trying to take. I feel more self-pressure rather than pressure from others."
Despite her success, Ko has changed coaches, caddies and club-makers ahead of her new season which begins in Adelaide.
"Even though there has been a lot of changes, I don't think I have ever been this excited to come off a break in December and get back into training and get back into preparing for the season," she said.
"Last year we had nine first-time winners on tour and it just shows the amount of talent ... it makes every one of us work harder."
