Healthy galleries have turned out for both the men’s and women’s golf events at the Paris Olympics with support for all nations represented in the comoetition. Image courtesy LPGA/X.
By Rahul Banerji
Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux charged out of the gates on Thursday at Le Golf National with an Olympic nine-hole record of 8 under par 28 in Paris.
She then hung on through a bumpy 2 under back nine to lead the Olympic women’s golf competition after Round 2 by a stoke from China’s Ruoning Yin, who carded the round of the day with a bogey-free 7 under 65.
Two-time Olympic medallist – silver at Rio and bronze three years ago in Tokyo – Lydia Ko (72-67) of New Zealand vaulted up the leaderboard TO third place while India’s Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar shared 14th place on 1 under par totals.
While the former followed her opening 72 with a 1 under 71 on Thursday, Dagar was going well till the 18th hole where a double bogey dented her 3 under par run for the day and left her on level Par 72.
So far, between them the two Indians have given up four shots in two days on Le Golf National’s final green.
Aditi said she had played conservatively particularly on the opening day but would look to push on in the third round.
Looking to move
“I think today I saw the scores, some players have shot really low rounds, so I know there’s a low round out there. I just have to go out there and shoot it. Usually the third day is Moving Day, so just going with that mindset.”
Added Diksha, who said she had been inspired by Scottie Scheffler’s winning final round of 9-under 63 in the men’s competition, “Scottie on the final day to clinch a medal, he played 9-under.
“So I have to be like him. Scottie played very amazing. On the final day, the pin position was very tough, and his striking was good and his putting, he made lots of birdies on that day.”
Having started with a birdie, Metraux went on a tear, starting with an eagle at the par-5 third and then reeling off three straight birdies from holes 4 to 6.
The 27-year-old capped the front nine with her second eagle, putting from 15 feet, 7 inches to turn in 28 and record the best nine-hole score in both the men’s and women’s Olympic golf competitions to date.
“The difference between yesterday and today at the beginning is just the putts that fell,” said Metraux, whose previous best nine-hole score had been a front nine 30 last year.
Riding high
“It just brought me confidence going forward and just tried to stay as present as I could and one shot at a time. It went pretty well.”
The momentum slowed on the back with a bogey-birdie-bogey stretch from holes 13 through 15, and she found the water with her second shot while trying to go for the green in two on the par-5 18th to finish with a bogey.
Slovenia’s Pia Babnik hit a 6 under 66 that included a run of five straight birdies from holes 12 to 16 after an opening 2 over 74 to climb to shared fourth on the leaderboard behind Ko.
First-round leader Celine Boutier, who had a 7 under 75 on Wednesday, struggled to a 76 in Round 2.
The Frenchwoman hit a rough patch on the back nine, making double bogey on 13, bogey on 14 and double on 15 while defending champion Nelly Korda of the US had eventful closing stretch in her 70 with birdie on 15, quadruple bogey on 16, bogey on 17 and birdie on 18.
“Emotionally it was fine,” Boutier, who had a massive gallery following her, said later.
Slipping up
“Definitely feel like I left a few shots out there. Had a rough patch in the back and didn’t really make as many birdie putts as I did yesterday. So definitely reflected in the score.”
Added Korda, “If I can get my whole game together for the next two days, and if I would have done this on the last day or let’s say the third day, then I would be extremely heartbroken.
“But I still have 36 more holes and anything can happen. I’m trying to see the positive in this. You know, Scottie came back, shot 9-under and he won. So you know, if you’re hitting your shots, then you’re staying present, and I think anything can happen.”
In an interesting statistic, the 36-hole leaders at both the Rio and Tokyo Games, Inbee Park in 2016 and Korda in 2021, went on to win the gold medal.
Also read: Boutier leads after day one in Paris as Diksha, Aditi start strongly
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