Money can wait, says Kiwi schoolgirl sensation Ko

(Reuters) - New Zealand schoolgirl golfing sensation Lydia Ko, still at the tender age of 15, has said the financial rewards for her astonishing success can wait - for now.

Ko opens the defense of her NSW Open title in Sydney this week, a victory which opened the floodgates on a record-breaking 2012 season.

At 14 she became the youngest player, male or female, to win a professional tournament and after turning 15 the youngest ever winner on the LPGA Tour at the Canadian Open.

"When I went to prize givings and people say what I have done for that year it was like 'Oh my God I actually did that?'" Ko told Australian media on Thursday.

"I'm not a person that when I get a win it sinks in straight away," added Ko, who also won the U.S. amateur championship.

"I was really shocked after seeing what I did. Having an LPGA win as an amateur, it doesn't come that often, so it was a year that's nearly impossible to repeat."

The South Korean-born Ko was also the leading amateur at the British and U.S. Open, rounding off a remarkable 2012 by winning the individual title at the world amateur championship.

"I think I was meant to be the richest sportswomen in New Zealand and it would have been great to have that money," said Ko, also set for a flood of endorsements in the future.

"But especially after the NSW Open because I knew that I wasn't going to get any money anyway, I didn't really have interest.