9 May 2014

No government funding for Lydia Ko

4:54 pm on 9 May 2014

The New Zealand golfer, Lydia Ko, will no longer receive government funding after a review following her successful start to her professional career.

New Zealand Golf had applied for more than 200-thousand dollars from High Performance Sport New Zealand to help pay for Ko's coaching, travel and mental skills training leading into the 2016 Olympics.

However a statement issued this afternoon says Ko and New Zealand Golf have decided to continue without government funding as she is now in a position to be able to fund her campaign costs herself.

The New Zealand Golf chief executive, Dean Murphy says HPSNZ's investment would still be well placed but the time is right for Ko to move ahead without their financial support.

He says the recent discussion in the media on the merits of the funding is disappointing as it has already provided significant returns.

An HPSNZ spokesperson says it hopes to continue supporting Ko with information and knowledge but refused to comment further on the matter.