Golf: Ko to donate any winnings to disaster-hit Nepal

Lydia Ko. Photo / Getty Images.

New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko has pledged to donate all her prizemoney from this week's LPGA tournament to the relief effort in quake-hit Nepal.

World No1 Ko told journalists ahead of the North Texas Shootout that she wanted to help victims of the deadly earthquake and aftershocks that have struck the country over the last week. The death toll has risen above 5,000 and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.

The 18-year-old said the disaster had impacted on her. "We had a big one in New Zealand, too, a couple years ago [in Christchurch], and it affected a lot of people," she said.

"Natural disasters you can't do much about. Sometimes it's hard to be prepared for it, so I thought, those people there, nice people and very innocent, I wanted to give this tournament's earnings and donate it to them."

The total purse this week is $1.7 million, with the winner to receive $A255,000. Ko, who claimed her seventh professional title at last week's Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, has won $1.19 million on the LPGA Tour this year.

To donate:

World Vision:

Nepal Earthquake Appeal

worldvision.org.nz

on 0800 90 5000

Unicef: Visit unicef.org.nz/nepal or call 0800 243 575

Oxfam: Visit oxfam.org.nz or call 0800 600 700

Red Cross: Visit redcross.org.nz or call 0800 Red Cross (0800 733 276)

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand: Visit caritas.org.nz or call 0900 4 11 11

New Zealand Nepal Society: Donations can be made to bank account number 01-0142-0053378-00

Himalayan Trust Rebuild Appeal: Visit givealittle.co.nz/cause/nepalearthquake

TEAR Fund: Visit TEAR fund.org.nz or call 0800 800 777

People clear the debris from damage caused by the earthquake in Sakhu, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Photo / AP

Damaged buildings lean to their sides in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo / AP

Kathmandu municipal workers collect garbage from the city in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo / AP

-AAP