Taiwan rejoiced on Sunday over golfer Yani Tseng's triumph in the Australian Ladies Masters which swept her to the top of the world rankings.

Her win dominated leading cable news network TVBS and several other channels, with images showing her finishing the $500,000 tournament.

The 22-year-old overtakes South Korea's Jiyai Shin in the rankings after completing the second leg of an Australian double following her win in the Australian Open in Melbourne last weekend.

Her performance is especially significant to Taiwan as the island is short of world class athletes.

"You won the title at the Australian Ladies Masters and have become the world's number one women golfer. You have become the pride of Taiwan and deserve special praise," President Ma Ying-jeou said in his congratulatory message to Tseng.

Vice-President Vincent Siew and Premier Wu Den-yi also congratulated her on the win.

© 2011 AFP/sid