Daniel Hillier says the Olympics are the "pinnacle for being able to represent your country". Photo: Photosport
Daniel Hillier will join Ryan Fox and Lydia Ko on the New Zealand golf team at the Paris Olympics.
It will be 25-year-old Hillier's first Olympics, while Fox and Ko will be competing for the third time.
Hillier's career is on the rise. He gave the European-based world tour notice of his talent with a win in the British Masters last year.
"It has been a goal of mine to make it onto the New Zealand team [for the Olympics],'' Hillier said on Monday.
"This is the pinnacle for being able to represent your country and so very honoured to be able to do it at a relatively early stage of my career.
"I'm going to have my whole family over here supporting, it's the first time they've been overseas together as a whole to watch me play, so it's going to be a surreal experience.''
Lydia Ko is aiming to win gold at the Paris Olympics. Photo: PhotoSport
Ko will be looking to complete her set of Olympic medals, having gained silver at Rio in 2016 and bronze at Tokyo in 2021.
"It's an honour to represent New Zealand at the Olympics once again," she said.
"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."
Fox, who has been playing on the PGA Tour this year, is well known on the European tour where he has won four titles, the last of which was the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in the UK last year.
"I grew up in a family where representing New Zealand was the highest honour. The Olympics offer a unique opportunity to do that, and I'm thrilled to be part of the team again," Fox said.
"Competing in Paris will be an incredible experience, and I'm looking forward to giving my best for New Zealand.''
The men's golf event starts on 1 August and the women's on 7 August.
Both will be held at Le Golf National, which is renowned for its challenging course.
