Exciting young amateur Lydia Ko will be paired with her childhood idol Michelle Wie for the first two rounds of the first women's major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

"If it was my first time, I would have been really nervous. I will definitely be nervous as she is my idol, but luckily I've experienced playing with her and Yani [Tseng] at the Australian Open," said Ko.

"I got to know a little bit more about her there. I think she's a very good player, and I'm very excited to be able to play with her. I've heard all her background and I know how good she is."

The tournament starts Thursday at Mission Hills, where Ko will take her place in the field alongside the world's best female golfers - an honour she already richly deserves.

The 15-year-old has experienced a hugely impressive start to playing in the big leagues, even if she hasn't yet decided to take the professional plunge.

She is the top-ranked amateur in the world and the US amateur champion, she has a victory each on the LPGA and Ladies European Tour, the latter win seeing her make history by becoming the youngest ever champion at a professional tour event, and she is yet to miss a professional cut since her debut in 2010 - all of which has lifted her to 25th in the world rankings.

Ko was born in South Korea, but her family moved to Auckland in New Zealand when she was still very young, which afforded her the opportunity to play golf regularly as a child.

"Neither of my parents played golf, but my aunt was a golf-aholic," Ko said. "She gave me a couple of clubs and I started from there. It is pretty cheap to play golf in New Zealand; much cheaper than Korea or America. For a hundred dollars a year I could have a club membership at a really good course which was never crowded.

"I started liking the game and realised there was no limit to where I could go."

Ko hasn't yet decided on her future plans, understandable for a 15-year-old, but furthering her studies after school, much like Wie did, is a goal at this stage.

"I want to go to college," she said. "When I am away playing golf I take schoolwork with me. I work any time I am free but, the rest of the time, golf is my biggest priority.

"My friends are all back home, studying and of course they are a little jealous of me. When I'm home I want to go to school because I am not there very often; my friends think it's crazy that I actually want to be there."

Ko has not yet decided when to turn professional - not an easy decision at such a young age. Some advise her to take her time, while others urge her to jump at the opportunity.

"My parents and I and my coaches, we have never really talked about it seriously. Some people have said: 'Don't rush it; you've got plenty of time; you've got academics and stuff as well.' Some people have said: 'No, you should go turn pro and make the most of it when you can.'

"Like I said, we haven't really talked about it. I've been up here and seen a little bit of what [the] tour is like. It seems really fun and I would like to be out here."

She admits being thrust under the spotlight so early in her career has added some pressure.

"It is good to get attention but just the intensity of it - it feels a little pressured," she added.

Certainly, the teenager has already achieved so much in her short career that flying under the radar in California probably won't be a possibility. Her pairing with Michelle Wie will definitely be one to watch over the first two days of competition.

Golf 365