Nelly Korda wins gold medal in women's golf and Henderson said it was a disappointing result for the world’s eighth-largest female player at Tokyo Olympics.

Nelly Korda wins gold medal in women's golf at Tokyo Olympics

Nelly Korda cemented her place as the most dominant player in the women’s game when she secured gold at the Olympic Games, edging Mone Inami and Lydia Ko by one stroke. Korda joined Xander Schauffele in giving the U.S. its second gold medal in golf just six weeks after claiming her first major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Korda becomes the first American female to win a medal in golf.

“It’s crazy,” said Korda.“It sounds absurd that I’m a gold medal (winner). and I’m an Olympian. I don’t know it just hasn’t sunk in yet.”

This marks 23-year-old Korda’s fourth victory of the season and her first since becoming World No. 1 in June. After flirting with a 59 in the second round and settling for 62, Korda looked poised to run away with gold until a sloppy double-bogey on the seventh hole – where the ball rolled back toward her feet twice – dropped her into a tie for first with New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and India’s Aditi Ashok.

But Korda didn’t stay down long, showing her mettle by ripping off three consecutive birdies on Nos. 8-10 to build back a three-stroke heading into the back nine as players raced against an approaching storm.

Korda, who led by three strokes heading into the final round over India’s Adidi Ashok, held off hard-charging efforts by Ko, the 2016 silver medalist, who birdied four of her first five holes and Japan’s Inami, who birdied four consecutive holes on Nos. 12-15. Ashok struggled off the tee throughout the final round but kept the heat on with spectacular putting.

The back-nine shootout produced spectacular primetime viewing in the U.S. until play was suspended at 11:27 ET due to dangerous weather conditions with the last two groups on the reachable par-4 17th hole. Korda held a one-shot lead over Inami and a two-shot advantage over Ko and Ashok when the horn blew.

Shortly after play resumed at 12:15 a.m. ET, Inami drained a birdie putt to pull even with Korda heading down the last hole.

After Inami’s approach shot settled on a severe upslope in a greenside bunker, however, she failed to get up and down, opening the door for Korda to clinch the gold medal with par with a 17-under 267 total.

Ko and Inami will play off for the silver and bronze medals.

 Henderson said it was a disappointing result for the world’s eighth-largest female player

Weather is also a major factor on the golf course, and players tee off at 6:30 am local time to avoid approaching thunderstorms.

Brooke Henderson wins Meijer LPGA Classic

<Brooke Henderson of Canada poses with the championship trophy during the final round of the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club on June 18, 2017 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)>

 

Just as Canadians Brooke Henderson and Arena Sharp finished the round, it began to rain and play was temporarily interrupted.

Henderson scored her highest score at the Summer Olympics with a 4-under 67 in the final round, ending in a draw in 29th place.

Henderson said it was a disappointing result for the world’s eighth-largest female player, but he learned a lot about mental toughness in four rounds at the Kasumigaseki Country Club.

“It would have been easy to give up once we got out of the medal battle, but” let’s fight for every shot and try to climb here, “said 23-year-old Henderson. -Born in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

“I think it’s really important.”

Sharp, who struggled with 4 over 75 in the final round and finished in 49th place, said he felt “exhausted” due to his busy play and travel schedule.

She and her wife / caddy Sarah Bowman planned to take a five-week vacation to recover after the closing ceremony.

At the Tokyo Aquatics Center, 18-year-old Nathan Zomber Murray was unable to advance to the final of the men’s 10-meter platform final.

Que. The diver from Pointe-Claire finished 13th in the semi-finals, 2.55 points away from the final qualifying spot.

“I’m certainly disappointed, but I think I’ll be more motivated with Paris for the next three years,” he said.

Canadians break national medal tally record at unboycotted Summer Olympics

Source link Canadians break national medal tally record at unboycotted Summer Olympics

 

 Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/2V95qPJ

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