Ko is right where she wants to be and is the most seasoned of those going after the gold medal, the first for women’s golf since 1900.
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Lydia Ko of New Zealand, birdies on the 7th hole during the final round of the women’s golf at Rio 2016. “It’s different, I first thought play like another tournament, but it’s not; it’s the Olympics and it’s a special tournament”, Oh said. “But you know, just any putt– I wasn’t putting very great today, so just to see something go in I think was really cool because now there’s no playoff, I think it’s great”.
“I smiled all the time whenever I missed a putt or made a putt”.
Each time a superstar retires from the LPGA, it robs fans of a great player.
“I hung in there until the end, I missed out on the bronze medal by a stroke and that’s a waste, but I gave my best”, said Nomura, who has won twice on the LPGA tour in 2016.
“This really could be the highlight of my career”, Park said.
“To stand on that podium would be nearly more than I could imagine”.
Ko, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, made the first hole-in-one of her career as she raced into contention. South Korean Park In-Bee wins gold, Lydia Ko of New Zealand wins silver while Feng claimed the bronze.
Twenty-eight-year-old Park, who is the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s youngest hall of fame qualifier, capped off an exceptional Olympic performance after recovering from injuries that kept her off the course for two months this year.
American Stacy Lewis finished 1 shot out of a medal and Piller fell back to a tie for 11th.
American Gerina Piller was tied for second place heading into the final round, but the 31-year-old struggled on Saturday, shooting 3-over 74 to fall into a tie for 11th place.
“I have won many tournaments but I have never felt this before”, she said.
“I think we were hoping for a 10th-place finish this Olympics and hopefully my gold medal will help us go into the top 10”. Ho-hum. Dealing with the pressure of winning a gold medal? But I do feel I have made Australia proud and I feel pretty good.
Park bounced back with two birdies, a pitch to tap-in range on the short 16th and a 20-foot birdie on the 17th to build a cushion.
“But I’m glad I could make a couple of birdies coming in and good one on the last to finish on good note”.
This final round, however, was all about Park. Missing from the women’s event is Ha Na Jang at No. 10, but only because South Korea had already filled its allotment of four players.
She has been battling back and left thumb injuries all year and at one point contemplated skipping the Rio Games.
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She took two months off from golf to get ready for the Olympics, and it was time to trust her instincts. “Being able to overcome injury this week and being able to play good, I’ve worked really hard for this week and hard work really paid off”.
