Auckland golf star Lydia Ko has been knocked out of the Australian Amateur Championship in Melbourne in round three of match play.
The 15-year-old world No.1 amateur, who finished in a share of the lead in the two round qualifying event to be the No.2 seed, was defeated 2 and 1 by in-form local Jo Charlton, who's 18 - ending Ko's bid to become the first golfer to successfully defend her Australian Amateur title since Michelle Ellis of New South Wales back in 1996 - 1997.
There is only one New Zealand woman left in the field with 16-year-old Wellingtonian Julianne Alvarez beating Japan's Asuka Kashiwabara 3 and 2 to make the quarter-finals, where she'll face South Australian Jenny Lee, who's 27.
Aucklander Munchin Keh was also defeated 3 and 2 by Western Australian Hannah Green
Ko will now begin preparing for the New South Wales Open where she is also the defending champion after making international headlines at the event in 2012.
The then-14-year-old became the youngest winner of any professional golf event, men or women.
