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The majority of Olympic gold medals in golf now belong to the American team.
Nelly Korda, No. 1 in the women’s golf world rankings, fought off a litany of challengers in the final round of women’s golf in Tokyo to claim gold with an aggregate score of 17 under.
The whole tournament was played on the difficult 18 hole at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Korda and Japan’s Mone Inami entered the hole tied for the lead at 17 under, but a trip to a bunker sent Inami to a buggy. A group later, Korda finished with a tap-in to seal the gold.
Inami won playoff silver. New Zealander Lydia Ko won bronze.
Korda gives Team USA their second golf gold medal alongside Xander Sc Chaudele in the men’s event. In a sport that experienced a century-long Olympic hiatus, four of the seven gold medals have now gone to the Americans.
Nelly Korda’s eventful finale
Inami, Ko and Indian Aditi Ashok all finished within two strokes of Korda and were each tied with her at one point in the round, where Korda entered with a three stroke lead.
A double bogey at the seventh hole put Korda tied at three with Ko and Ashok, but she quickly bounced back with three consecutive birdies to regain the lead. This lead remained comfortable until Inami managed four consecutive birdies to shoot in one shot.
A rapid weather delay interrupted the tournament for almost half an hour as the top of the standings waited on the 16th and 17th holes. With his first shot after the delay, Inami birdied another birdie to tie Korda for the lead, but the events of the 18th hole left Korda the winner.
The big season for Korda continues
An Olympic gold medal is the latest addition to Korda’s impressive trophy box this year.
Since the start of 2021, Korda has won three LPGA tournaments, including the Women’s PGA Championship in June. She also finished tied for third in ANA Inspiration. All of this allowed 23-year-old Korda to take first place in the standings for the first time in his career.
According to ESPN, Korda is the first golfer to win a major tournament and the Olympics in the same year.
To add to the fun, Korda was able to celebrate with her sister, golf star Jessica Korda, in person. Korda’s older sister finished tied for 19th in the under-9 event, but slipped under seven at 64 to finish with the best score of the round.
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