Youngster Thompson not fazed

Twelve-year-old Alexis Thompson tees off in today's US Women's Open having already set one record.

Thompson is the youngest qualifier for the tournament having last week shot 72 and 71 aged just 12 years, four months and one day to progress to play against the world's best.

The previous record holder was Morgan Pressel, who was more than seven months older when she made it through in 2001. However, despite the attention the youngster is receiving she appears to be taking it all in her stride.

"I want to play well," said the 5ft 6ins youngster ahead of the major at Pine Needles Golf Club in North Carolina. "If I make the cut, that would be awesome, but I just want to do good." The youngest player in the Open's history is Beverly Klass, who was just 10 when she played in 1967 but that was prior to the introduction of qualifying nine years later.

Annika Sorenstam, the recently deposed world number one, lines up as the defending champion and she is just hoping that her rather rusty game is in good enough shape to compete with the best. The 36-year-old Swede claimed her first US Women's Open title in 1995 and staged a successful defence here the following year. But Sorenstam has only played twice since April due to a back injury and said: "I've been working hard with my coach Henri Reis in Florida and I feel I'm on the right track. At the moment, I'm really just trying to get back to 100 per cent fitness and to be able to play full time again. We'll see what happens this week."

Sorenstam has fallen to number three in the world rankings behind Mexican Lorena Ochoa and Karrie Webb, but hopes to join Mickey Wright and Betsy Rawls and become a member of an exclusive club of four-time US Women's Open champions.

Michelle Wie remains committed to competing in men's tournaments despite withdrawing from next month's John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour after admitting that her game was not in the right shape to compete against the men. The Hawaiian-born 17-year-old has been troubled by a wrist injury but will still take her place in the field at Pine Needles.