New Zealand’s Lydia Ko can now boast a complete set of Olympic medals after adding the missing gold medal to her collection Saturday at Le Golf National. Rounding out the podium were Germany’s Esther Henseleit with silver and China’s Xiyu Lin with bronze.
The 27-year-old Ko, who started the day tied for the lead, fired a one-under 71 in the final round to finish at ten-under 278. Her lead stretched to as much as five shots after turning in two-under 34, but she opened the door to the rest of the field following a double bogey at the par four 13th. Ko rebounded with four straight pars before dropping a birdie at the last, not only securing the gold medal but also the elusive final point she needed to secure entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame. The gold medal also makes Ko the first-ever three-time Olympic medallist in golf, adding to her silver from Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020.
Moving up 12 spots on the leaderboard and into the silver medal spot on the podium, Henseleit fired a six-under 66 on Saturday to finish at eight under, two shots behind Ko. The 25-year-old German opened with rounds of 72-73 before moving into the red on Friday thanks to a three-under 69.
Also coming from behind to earn her spot on the medal stand was Lin, who birdied three of her last four holes to also post 69 on Saturday and finish three shots behind Ko.
Defending gold medallist and world No. 1 Nelly Korda of USA finished T22 in her gold medal defence, shooting a three-over 75 on Saturday that included four birdies, four bogeys and a triple bogey. Also coming up short were Team USA teammate Rose Zhang, who teed off in the final group with Ko but shot 74 on Saturday and finished T8. Switzerland’s Morgane Mertraux, who set a new nine-hole Olympic record in the second round with a 28 on the front nine, started the day tied for the lead but fell to T18 after a seven-over 79 on Saturday.
Fellow Swiss Albane Valenzuela carded the round of the day, firing a seven-under 65 that vaulted her 20 spots up the leaderboard to finish T13.
