Paris 2024: Ko And Fox To Be Joined By Hillier At Paris 2024

Ryan Fox and Lydia Ko are set to be joined by Olympic debutant Daniel Hillier at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Ko heads into the Games looking to complete her set of Olympic medals, having won silver at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020.

“It’s an honour to represent New Zealand at the Olympics once again,” said Ko.

“The experiences of competing in Rio and Tokyo have been incredible, and I’m looking forward to Paris. My goal is to bring home the gold for New Zealand.”

It will also be the third Olympic Games for Fox, who heads to the Games in solid form, having made the cut in the last seven Majors. Since turning professional in 2012, Fox has primarily played in Europe, but in 2023, he split his time between the DP World Tour and the US, before going full-time on the USPGA Tour.

Fox’s results since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been impressive, with multiple top-10 finishes on the DP World Tour and a notable victory at the BMW PGA Championship in 2023.

“I grew up in a family where representing New Zealand was the highest honor. The Olympics offer a unique opportunity to do that, and I’m thrilled to be part of the team again,” said Fox.

“Competing in Paris will be an incredible experience, and I’m looking forward to giving my best for New Zealand,” says Fox.

Meanwhile Hillier, one of New Zealand’s brightest young talents, will make his Olympic debut in Paris. The 25-year-old has made significant strides as a young professional, quickly progressing from Europe’s Challenge Tour to the DP World Tour. He became a DP World Tour winner in 2023 with his triumph at the Betfred British Masters. Known for his precision and composure, Hillier’s game continues to mature, and he is eager to embrace the challenge of competing on the Olympic stage.

The men's golf event will take place from August 1st to 4th, followed by the women's event from August 7th to 10th. Both competitions will be held at the prestigious Le Golf National, renowned for its challenging course and stunning landscape.

NZOC CEO Nicki Nicol extended her congratulations to the athletes.

“Well done to Lydia, Ryan and Daniel on their selection to the New Zealand Team,” said Nicol.

“Golf is one of the sports that New Zealanders love to support at the Olympic Games and we wish you all the best as you take to the course next month in Paris.”

Golf was reintroduced to the Olympic Games at Rio 2016 after a 112-year hiatus.

Athlete Bios

Ryan Fox

After finishing in a tie for 39th at Rio 2016 and a tie for 42nd at Tokyo 2020, Ryan Fox is looking forward to his third Olympic Games at Paris 2024.

In 2019 he won his first European Tour event, at the World Super 6 Perth, to become the first New Zealander to win on the European Tour in 10 years.

In February 2019, Fox won his first European Tour event, at the co-sanctioned ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth, beating Adrián Otaegui 3 and 2 in the final. He was the first New Zealander to win on the European Tour in 10 years since Danny Lee.

Fox won his second European Tour event in February 2022 at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic. He shot 22-under-par for four rounds, beating Ross Fisher by five shots.

Having recorded 10 Top-10s during the 2022 season, Fox found himself lying in second position in the DP World Tour Rankings heading into the final event; the DP World Tour Championship. With a 19th-place finish at the season finale, it was good enough to see Fox maintain his second place in the rankings, finishing only behind Rory McIlroy.

In May 2023, Fox earned special temporary membership on the PGA Tour. In September 2023, Fox won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. He shot a final-round 67, including an up-and-down birdie on the final hole to win by one shot over Tyrrell Hatton and Aaron Rai. It was also his first Series title.

Fox enjoys fishing in his spare time and being out on the water.

Daniel Hillier

Daniel Hillier was born in Porirua, and as a youngster always had a golf club in his hand.

As an Amateur golfer, Hillier amassed a number of key titles including two New Zealand Junior U19 Championships in 2015 and 2016, the 2017 Australian Junior Championship, a Charles Tour professional event in the 2015 Harewood Open, as well as two New Zealand Amateur Championships in 2015 and 2017.

Hillier reached 13th in the official World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) before turning professional on 10th September 2019.

Hillier had a remarkable season on the 2021 Challenge Tour. He began the year with only seven invitations, coupled with the additional difficulty of not being able to return home due to Covid-19 restrictions. Despite these difficulties, he secured his maiden Challenge Tour win at the penultimate event of the season, the Challenge Costa Brava, to play his way into the 2021 season finalé ‘Challenge Tour Grand Final’ in Mallorca.

He ended the season 23rd on the rankings to comfortably secure his full Challenge Tour card for the 2022 season, and have Category 18 status on the 2022 DP World Tour.

Hillier won his second Challenge Tour tournament at the Swiss Challenge event in September 2022, to go alongside five other Top 10 finishes during the year.

He ended the 2022 season in 7th place on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, which secured him Category 14 status on the 2023 DP World Tour.

Lydia Ko

Lydia Ko has progressed from a prodigiously talented golfer in her early teens to a two-time Olympic medallist who is within a whisker of entry into the elite LPGA Hall of Fame.

Ko was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1997 and moved to New Zealand with her family when she was four.

She has done her adopted country proud, winning a silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and bronze at Tokyo 2020. Her pride in representing New Zealand at the Olympics was obvious to all who watched.

Ko, only 19, included a hole in one in her final round in Rio, and finished five shots behind gold medallist Inbee Park, but ahead of a large pack of talented golfers desperately hunting medals. She shot 69, 70, 65, 69 for her 11 under par total of 273.

Going into Tokyo, Ko had not been in the best of form, but she produced the goods when she needed it and emerged from a topsy-turvy final day with the bronze medal, after an absorbing battle with Nellie Korda and hometown favourite Mone Inami. She shot 70, 67, 66, 65 for an impressive 16-under par total to finish second-equal with Inami, one shot behind Korda. The Japanese player won the play-off for silver. Those watching were struck by Ko's extreme good sportsmanship, to the point of her encouraging Inami even during the play-off.

The sports world is full of extremely talented youngsters who fail to kick on as they reach the senior ranks. But Ko, who was among the best golfers in the world even when she was only 14 and still an amateur, has had a glittering career, that includes not only her Olympic medals but two Majors and a total of 28 professional tournament wins, 20 of them on the competitive LPGA (Ladies' Professional Golf Association) tour.

She reached No 1 in the women's golf rankings on February 2, 2015, aged 17 years, 9 months, 9 days – the youngest player in professional golf to have reached No 1. She held the ranking for 85 weeks. She reclaimed the No 1 ranking in November 2022 and held it for a further 19 weeks.

Her list of achievements began very early. She was only seven in 2005 when she competed in the national amateur championship. She attended Pinehurst School in Albany and when she joined the professional golf tour she took correspondence classes with Pinehurst.

In January 2012, aged 14, she became the youngest woman ever to win a professional golf tournament when she won the New South Wales Open. She'd been second the previous year.

In August 2012, aged 15 years, 4 months, Ko became the youngest winner of an LPGA Tour event, when she shot a 13-under 275 to win the Canadian Open. Because she was an amateur, the US$300,000 winner's share went to runner-up Inbee Park. Ko successfully defended her Canadian title in 2014, shooting 265 for a five-stroke victory. This time runner-up Karine Icher took home the US$300,000. Ko had become the only amateur to win two LPGA Tour events.

She finally turned professional in 2014, having declined to claim more than $1 million in prizemoney because of her amateur status. She had been the world's top-ranked amateur for 130 weeks. In 2014 she was named LPGA Rookie of the Year.

When she won the Evian Championship in France in 2015, she became the youngest woman (18 years, 4 months, 20 days) to win a Major championship. Her closing round of 63 was a record lowest final round in the history of women's golf Majors, but she lowered that record with a 62 at the 2021 ANA Inspiration. She had previously won the ANA Inspiration in 2016 for her second consecutive Major championship.

In 2014 (at only 17), Ko was named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people. In 2014 and 2015, Ko was named in the ESPN Women's Impact25 list of 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest impact on women's sport.

The records kept coming – at the ANA Inspiration in 2015, Ko shot a 1-under-par 71 in the first round to tie her with the great Annika Sörenstam for the LPGA record for consecutive rounds under par, at 29. In 2015, she was named LPGA Player of the Year, the youngest winner in the 49 years of the award.

Perhaps not surprisingly, her form levelled off, though she generally remained in the world's top 10 and contended at Major events. In November 2022, Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship and with that title a US$2 million first-place prize. She completed the 2022 season with three wins, the LPGA Player of the Year award for the second time, the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, and was the 2022 leading money winner.

Ko is a player director on the LPGA Board.

In 2016, she was named Young New Zealander of the Year. Ko was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2019. 

She was recognised early by the Halberg Academy and in 2012, aged just 15, won the Emerging Talent section of the Halberg Awards. That same year she was a finalist in the Sportswoman of the Year category. The following year, at 16, she won the Sportswoman of the Year and the Halberg Supreme Award. From 2013-15 she won the Sportswoman of the Year category and in 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022 she was again a finalist in that category. Hardly surprisingly, she was named Emerging Talent Athlete of the Decade (2010-19). She won the NZOC's Lonsdale Cup in 2015.

About The New Zealand Team for Paris 2024

In July and August 2024, New Zealand will take on the world at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Around 190 New Zealand Team athletes will compete at the Games, with the stunning city of Paris set to host 10,500 athletes from 206 nations. 

With competition taking place at the Palace of Versaille, beneath the Eiffel Tower, inside Stade de France, and around landmarks such as Les Invalides, Place de la Concorde, Hotel de Ville and along the Seine, the Games are expected to be a spectacular event. 

The Zealand Team is once again set to shine in sports from equestrian, to rowing, rugby sevens,
swimming, canoe sprint, sailing, athletics, cycling and more, while New Zealanders can check out the action in incredible new urban sports including skateboarding, sport climbing, breaking and 3x3 basketball.

© Scoop Media