Tseng expands on pressures facing world No. 1

• By Will Gray
• Mar 7, 2013 6:06 AM ET

Most people – players, fans and media alike – can't truly understand the plight currently facing world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, but Yani Tseng is definitely a member of the select group that can.

Currently atop the Rolex Rankings, Tseng appeared on "Morning Drive" Thursday to expand on comments she made about the pressure facing the Ulsterman specifically, and the world's top-ranked player in general.

"I can totally understand what he feels because not many people have been No. 1 before," she explained. "Everyone wants to be in those shoes, but no one knows how tough it is."

Video: Tseng talks about Rory, pressures at the top

Tseng, who has topped the Rolex Rankings since February 2011, struggled last year to follow up a 2011 season that saw her win seven times on the LPGA Tour, including two majors. She indicated that once the novelty of the top ranking wore off, she began to feel added pressure.

"I feel like I'm always having fun, being world No. 1, but now I feel it's not as fun as the first couple months," she noted. "I think every month, people put more expectation on you, everybody thinks you should play like world No. 1 each week.

"Last year, it was a struggle," she added.

As questions still surround McIlroy following his withdrawal from last week's Honda Classic, Tseng noted the role that off-the-course obligations can play for the top-ranked player in the world.

"There is something you have to do outside of golf, too. People expect you more," explained Tseng, who won three times on the LPGA Tour in 2012. "When you're not World No. 1, people think it's ok to have a missed tournament. But when you're No. 1, that expectation from fans and media is very, very hard."