Paris 2024 Olympics, historic gold medal for Lydia Ko
Golf, results
Lydia Ko in history. The New Zealander captured the gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games, standing on the podium for the third consecutive time after taking silver in Rio 2016 and bronze in Tokyo. At Le Golf National (par 72) she finished with 278 (72 67 68 71, -10), leaving Germany’s Esther Henseleit, second with 280 (-8) and a silver medalist, two strokes behind, and China’s Xiyu Lin, third with 281 (-7), a bronze medalist, three strokes behind. In 53° place with 304 (75 76 77 76, +16) was Alessandra Fanali, making her Olympic debut.
It wasn’t an easy finish for Lydia Ko who, after taking a good lead, had to manage the last holes very carefully, due to a double bogey on 13 that complicated her life. She’ was very careful after that injury, relying on her great experience and cautiously continuing on the edge of par, leaving the risks to those who had to catch up. Then she scored the’last birdie on hole 18, with the title in the bag, for 71 (four birdies, one bogey, one double bogey).
She mostly managed the comeback of Henseleit, who with a 66 (-6, seven birdies, including two to close, and a bogey) è moved up 12 places and was the è only one who managed to jeopardize her success. In fact, Xiyu Lin è never got too close, while she è immediately defiled Swiss Morgane Metraux, with whom she shared the lead in the third round, until she dropped to 18th° place (286, -2) after a heavy 79 (+7).
A birdie on the’last hole brought Xiyu Lin to the podium, thereby avoiding a possible playoff with Filipina Bianca Pagdanganan, Australian Hannah Green, Japan’s Miyu Yamashita and Korea’s Amy Yang, who were relegated to fourth place with 282 (-6). In eighth with 283 (-5) Rose Zhang and Taiwan’s Wei-Ling Hsu and among the competitors in tenth with 284 (-4) was China’s Ruoning Yin, who for a few holes è was in the medal zone only to give up on the comeback. Only disappointment for Nelly Korda, world number one, 22ª with 287 (-1), who è practically went out of the game in the second round when at hole 17, after getting close to the leaders, she scored a devastating quadruple bogey from which she è never recovered.
