Nelly Korda was cruising to another Olympic gold medal then disaster struck on 16

Nelly Korda, the defending Olympic gold medalist from Team USA, was poised for another stellar performance at the Olympic Golf Competition in Paris, but a dramatic turn of events on the 16th hole of the second round put her bid for gold in jeopardy.

 

Korda, ranked as the World No.1, began her tournament with a steady level-par 72. Her game quickly improved as she entered the second round, showcasing her skills on the front nine. She made four birdies in the first nine holes and continued her impressive play by adding two more birdies on the 11th and 15th holes. This strong performance saw her climbing the leaderboard and moving into a tie for second place, just trailing the 36-hole leader, Morgane Metraux from Switzerland.

 

However, Korda’s hopes of defending her Olympic title took a significant hit on the par-3 16th hole. A seemingly routine hole turned disastrous for her. She misjudged her tee shot, sending the ball into the lake short of the green. Her subsequent attempts to recover only compounded her difficulties. Her third shot found the greenside bunker, and to her dismay, the ball was plugged in the sand. After a challenging escape from the bunker, Korda’s troubles continued as she three-putted from the back of the green. The result was a catastrophic quadruple-bogey seven, which dramatically dropped her score from 6-under par to 2-under par for the tournament.

 

Despite the setback, Korda did manage to salvage some of her round. She bogeyed the par-4 17th hole but fought back with a birdie on the par-5 18th, finishing her round with a 2-under 70. This score placed her at 2-under par for the tournament, tied for 12th position with two rounds remaining. Although she was significantly behind the leaders, Korda remains a strong contender for the gold medal, trailing by six shots as the tournament heads into its final days.

 

At the top of the leaderboard, Morgane Metraux from Switzerland maintained her lead with an 8-under par total after the second round. She is one shot ahead of Ruoning Yin from China, who is at 7-under par. Former World No.1 Lydia Ko from New Zealand is three shots back, sitting in solo third place at 5-under par.

 

Celine Boutier, the home favorite, had a tumultuous back nine after a strong start. Boutier, who started the back nine with a 1-under par round and an 8-under par total, encountered a rough stretch, making back-to-back double bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes. Despite parring the final three holes, she fell to 3-under par, now trailing by five shots heading into the weekend.

 

Team GB’s Charley Hull faced a challenging second round following her dismal opening round of 81. Hull, ranked World No.11, showed improvement but finished with a 1-under 71. This score left her at 8-over par for the tournament, 16 shots off the lead. Hull had acknowledged that a shoulder injury from a recent fall and the lack of cigarettes, which she had previously used to cope with stress on the course, were affecting her performance.

 

Georgia Hall, Hull’s compatriot, also struggled, shooting rounds of 74 in both the first and second rounds. Hall is currently 4-over par, making it difficult for her to make a significant move up the leaderboard.

 

As the tournament progresses into the weekend, the field remains competitive, with Korda and other contenders looking to overcome the challenges and make a push for the podium positions.