New Zealand’s Lydia Ko can now boast a complete set of Olympic medals after adding the missing gold medal to her collection Saturday at Le Golf National. Rounding out the podium were Germany’s Esther Henseleit with silver and China’s Xiyu Lin with bronze.
The 27-year-old Ko, who started the day tied for the lead, fired a 1-under 71 in the final round to finish at 10-under 278. Her lead stretched to as much as five shots after turning in 2-under 34, but she opened the door to the rest of the field following a double bogey at the par-4 13th. Ko rebounded with four straight pars before dropping a birdie at the last, not only securing the gold medal but also the elusive final point she needed to secure entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
The gold medal also makes Ko the first-ever three-time Olympic medallist in golf, adding to her silver from Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020.
Moving up 12 spots on the leaderboard and into the silver medal spot on the podium, Henseleit fired a 6-under 66 on Saturday to finish at 8 under, two shots behind Ko. The 25-year-old German opened with rounds of 72-73 before moving into the red on Friday thanks to a 3-under 69.
Also coming from behind to earn her spot on the medal stand was Lin, who birdied three of her last four holes to also post 69 on Saturday and finish three shots behind Ko.
Defending gold medallist and world No. 1 Nelly Korda of USA finished T22 in her gold medal defense, shooting a 3-over 75 on Saturday that included four birdies, four bogeys and a triple bogey. Also coming up short was Team USA teammate Rose Zhang, who teed off in the final group with Ko but shot 74 on Saturday and finished T8. Switzerland’s Morgane Mertraux, who set a new nine-hole Olympic record in the second round with a 28 on the front nine, started the day tied for the lead but fell to T18 after 7-over 79 on Saturday.
Fellow Swiss Albane Valenzuela carded the round of the day, firing a 7-under 65 that vaulted her 20 spots up the leaderboard to finish T13.
Other Player Notes and Quotes
- Albane Valenzuela’s (T13/-3) 7-under 65 is tied for the second-lowest final round score in the modern history of women's Olympic golf, bested only byMaria Verchenova (RUS) in Rio with a 9-under 62. This is Valenzuela’s best finish in her third Olympic appearance (2016/21st, 2020/T18)
- 54-hole leader Morgane Metraux (T18/-2) shot a 7-over 79 on Saturday, which included two bogeys and a triple bogey in her first five holes, in her Olympic debut
- Celine Boutier finished as the top Frenchwoman after carding a 2-over 74 during her final round (T22/-2)
- Mariajo Uribe eagled No. 18, carding a 1-over 73 during her final round of golf as she plans to retire from professional play following Saturday’s completion of the 2024 women’s Olympic golf competition
- Rolex Rankings No. 1 and Olympic Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda was 1-under through 14 holes of the final round before notching a triple-bogey 7 at No. 14 en route to a final-round 75 to finish T22 in defense of her gold medal; after shooting four rounds in the 60s to win gold in the Tokyo Olympics, Korda failed to record a round in the 60s at Le Golf National
No comments:
Post a Comment