South Korean Park In-bee has won the gold medal at the first women’s golf competition at the Olympics since 1900, bringing home the ninth gold for South Korea at the Rio games.
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South Korea’s Park Inbee poses with her gold medal in the Women’s individual stroke play at the Olympic Golf course during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 21 (efe_epa).
The no-shows fueled questions over Golf’s Olympic staying power. A Park-Ko duel is pretty close to the dream scenario for the tournament, as it puts one of the all-time best, Park – 17 career wins, seven majors – up against the young star in Ko – 14 career wins, two majors.
Chinese golfer Feng Shanshan at the women’s event on Saturday, August 20, 2016.
“It has been a great golf course for such a new course and it has played really well”.
That has added to questions raised about the direction her career was heading, especially after the young phenom Ko supplanted her as world number past year.
Inbee Park was in the 16th fairway, only 50 yards from the hole, and couldn’t imagine a worse spot to be.
She shot a five-under par 66 on the final day, ending the tournament at sixteen under par. She took time off to recover, and to pour everything into being ready for the Olympics.
“I did everything I possibly could, but I realized that alone doesn’t take care of everything”, Kim said.
“I feel extremely honoured and proud that I get to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games”, Park said.
Starting with that pitch to tap-in range, she birdied two straight holes and shot a 1-under 70 to take a two-shot lead into the final round.
Now comes the real test.
Just as hard as the 30-mph gusts was seeing Ko right behind her. She was tied with Ko for silver heading into the 18th but made a three-putt par as Ko sank a birdie.
The 19-year-old Kiwi also had opportunities to gain shots but her putts were either fractionally short or just wide. Piller’s signature moment was making the winning putt for the United States in the Solheim Cup a year ago in Germany.
“I feel like I have a chance at this”, she said.
“I’m going to try to keep calm as much as I can”, she said.
Lopez played the first nine holes even with three birdies, a bogey and a double.
In the other quarterfinals, Oklahoma sophomore Brad Dalke of Norman, Oklahoma, beat former Stanford player David Boote of Wales 3 and 2, and Southern California junior Jonah Texeira of Porter Ranch, California, topped LSU sophomore Luis Gagne of Orlando, Florida, 3 and 2.
The 28-year-old South Korean finally got her putter going, and she’s among the best in women’s golf on the greens. Her struggles were with the longer clubs, especially as the wind became fierce.
Park hopes her victory – South Korea’s ninth gold – can help establish their place in the top 10 of the medal table, the nation now sitting in eighth.
Carlson, from Hamilton, Michigan, beat IL junior Dylan Meyer of Evansville, Indiana, 3 and 1, taking the lead with a birdie chip on the par-4 14th that he celebrated with a running, double fight pump.
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After flat bogeys on two of the first four holes today, the six-birdie salvo was testament to Lee’s fighting spirit. Got it covered. And cracking after messing up the 10th hole? She finished tied for 25th at one-under. I’ve won a lot of the major championships. World Number 1 Lydia Ko sits alone in third place at the turn at -9, while American Gerina Piller and Great Britain’s Charley Hull sit one more behind at -8. She shot a 72 and fell five shots out of the lead. Her back nine was no less wild. All that mattered was a chance to win gold in what she considers the biggest week of her year – next to her marriage August 6 to Houston women’s golf coach Gerrod Caldwell. Heading into Rio, she had played just one event in two months – she missed the cut – and attention was turning toward a potential retirement.
