It’s the news that the golfing world has been waiting to hear…World No.1 amateur Lydia Ko has turned professional.

Following her unique announcement via Twitter this morning New Zealand Golf is proud to confirm that the World No.4 has made the decision to turn professional with immediate effect.

New Zealand Golf Chief Executive Dean Murphy said: “This is a very momentous day for Lydia and we are so thrilled that she has chosen such a unique and entertaining way to share her news with her fans today.”

Murphy said they had scheduled Lydia and her good friend and All Black Israel Dagg to get together for a game of golf to promote the upcoming LOVE Golf Membership campaign and the idea evolved from there.

“We are rolling out a new membership campaign over summer to promote involvement in our great game and let’s just say the storyline changed somewhat in the last few days.

“Being the special person that Lydia is, she was reluctant to hold a traditional press conference. She didn’t want to make a big fuss about news that had already been reported in the media in recent weeks.

“She has also been very busy studying for exams and wanted to make this announcement in a different way.”

Murphy said that Lydia’s amateur career was exceptional and she has been an outstanding ambassador for New Zealand Golf.

“She has been phenomenal,” he said. “Her amateur record ranks right up there among the greats of the game. She has won four professional titles, claimed the US and Australian Amateur titles, climbed to World No.4 on the World Rankings and has been the World No.1 amateur for more than two years without ever losing that title. That is a record that is unlikely to be matched by a 16-year-old ever again.

“Lydia is an exceptional talent and we wish her every success in her professional career. We look forward to welcoming her home to defend her title at the New Zealand Women’s Open as a professional.”