Morgane Metraux and Lydia Ko tied for lead after three rounds of women's strokeplay at Le Golf National
Published 09/08/2024 at 17:22 GMT
The battle for medals in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games women's strokeplay golf increased at Le Golf National on Friday. Morgane Metraux retained a share of the lead, but the Switzerland player was joined at the top of the leaderboard by New Zealand's two-time major champion Lydia Ko - with both on nine-under. GB stars Charley Hull and Georgia Hall are well off the pace.
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Morgane Metraux overcame a mid-round wobble to retain a share of the lead alongside Lydia Ko after three rounds of the women’s golf at Paris 2024.
At one stage on moving day at Le Golf National, a host of players were heading in reverse as the tough conditions were taking a toll.
Switzerland’s Metraux made three bogeys in four holes at the start of the back nine, as she had a case of the lefts, but recovered superbly and ended the day on a brilliant note with an eagle on 18 to sign for a round of 71 and a nine-under total after 54 holes.
New Zealand’s Ko joined Metraux at nine-under after a round of 68, with the former being the most consistent of the leading figures.
Rose Zhang joined Ko and Metraux in the final group after carding a 67 on day three. It was to the American’s great credit that she was able to get within two shots of the lead at seven-under after dumping her approach in the water on 15 and making a double-bogey six, but she made eagle on 18 - her second of the round - to put herself in contention.
Zhang’s fellow Team USA competitor Nelly Korda is lurking at four-under following another up-and-down round.
24 hours on from making a quadruple bogey on the 16th, Korda dropped shots on one and three as her Olympic title defence looked set to fizzle out.
The world No. 1 ended the front nine with three birdies in four holes and carded two more birdies on the back nine to get within two of the lead. But a sloppy three-putt on the 17th was a costly error and she was unable to take advantage of the gift of a pin position on 18 and had to settle for a par in a round of 70.
The home challenge looked good after round one with Celine Boutier at the top of the leaderboard, but she unravelled on day two and made costly errors on day three.
Boutier made 10 pars on the spin to start her round, but back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 had the French fans in full cry.
They were silenced on the 13th, a hole that Boutier will not want to take home with her. In the second round, Boutier made a double bogey.
It got worse on Friday, as she carded a triple-bogey seven - which highlighted the importance of finding fairways at Le Golf National. Birdies on 16, 17 and 18 kept Boutier in the hunt at four-under.
There is little hope of a medal for Team GB, as Georgia Hall is in a tie for 27th at three-over after a round of 71, but that is two shots better than Charley Hull who produced her best golf of the week to date with a round of 69.
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