Team GB’s Charley Hull finished just outside the medals at Rio 2016 after a thrilling final round at the Olympic Golf Course saw her end up tied for seventh.
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“Even people who don’t like golf have watched golf this week”. She shot a five-under par 66 on the final day, ending the tournament at sixteen under par.
“I was a little bit mad after the double on 14 and got my focus back instead of going the other way”, she said.
“I only really hit that one bad shot today which was really hard to recover from”, Oh said.
An injured thumb that continues to bother her has limited her starts and productivity in 2016 – she hadn’t played in more than two months – and she has indicated a desire to start a family.
“This is definitely one of the special moments in my golfing career and in my whole life”, Park said. “It feels great. It’s just really all I’ve wanted”.
Ko missed a birdie chance on the opening hole and then dropped a shot at the second while Park picked up at the third to begin a run of three successive birdies.
The bronze medal went to China’s Shanshan Feng, who threatened to challenge early on before faltering on her way to finishing on 10-under-par. She’s already the first to own multiple majors and a gold.
During the final round, when she tapped in from 2 feet for par on the final hole, she raised her arms and tilted her head to a cloudy sky. “I think it would be a cool feeling, but you never really know until you are there”. “My celebration was like as if I won the gold”, the 19-year-old said.
“I’ll just kind of be going out there and putting everything at stake aside and focusing on putting a good swing and being all in on every shot”.
Asked if fans might have forgotten that she was pretty good, Park only smiled. “It is a huge honour”, Ko said after the dramatic finish. “She’s really, really good”.
Round of the day/Shot of the day: Russia’s Maria Verchenova set a new Olympic record with her 9-under 62 Sunday, besting Marcus Fraser, Matt Kuchar and Stacy Lewis who shared the previous mark of 63.
This final round, however, was all about Park.
South Korea has been the dominant nation in women’s golf, and Park brought home the biggest prize. She had not broken par on the LPGA Tour since April. Park stared straight ahead and kept pouring in putts.
But the Victorian leapt into medal contention with great birdies on the 10 and 11 holes and when she escaped the tough 12 unscathed, suddenly had high hopes.
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Ko concurred with Pillers’ thoughts on her 6-under effort feeling like it was much better.
