Teenage golfing prodigy Lydia Ko said on Thursday that turning professional would put her under greater pressure, but it was a “cool” career step she felt ready to take.

Amid warnings from pundits to avoid “sharks” lurking around the professional golf circuit, the 16-year-old New Zealander said the time was right to relinquish her amateur status, as most of her appearances were at pro events anyway.

“Looking back to this year, I only played one amateur tournament … all of the others were pro tournaments,” she said in a statement released via New Zealand Golf.

“I was enjoying my time out there playing with other professionals, so I thought it would be a cool route to take.”

There has been speculation about when Ko would join the paid ranks since she became the youngest ever winner of a professional golf tour event in 2012, when she claimed the New South Wales Open in Australia at the age of 14.

She announced her long-awaited decision on social media Wednesday, saying she planned to make her professional debut at next month’s season-ending LPGA tour event in Florida.

However, she must first receive a dispensation to play from LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, as the organisation usually restricts membership to golfers aged 18 and over.

Ko, who was unable to collect around $US2 million ($A2.08 million) in prize money and millions more in endorsements as an amateur, said playing for financial reward would undoubtedly mean more pressure.

“On the pro tour, one putt is a couple of thousand dollars,” she said. “Those will be huge differences but I think I will really enjoy playing as a professional.

“I think there will be more pressure, more than I’ve been getting. In saying that, in the last couple of months people have been expecting lots because I won a professional tournament and stuff like that.”

Ko, who has won four professional events and is ranked fourth in the world, is currently managed by her parents and has not formalised a deal with a major management group.

She has yet to finalise her coaching team or decide where she will be based, although the Korean-born teenager said she would continue to represent New Zealand, which has been her home since she was six.