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    • The Value of Golf as an Olympic Sport – GolfWRX
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    The Value of Golf as an Olympic Sport – GolfWRX

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    I started writing the introductory section for Friday as the back nine began. It looked like this: Lap three was a tale of two cities: those who pushed further and those who didn’t. The leaders should have pushed further, into the mid-60s, to maintain their lead. They didn’t. The chasers should have gone further down to contain the leading group and give themselves a chance on Sunday. And that’s exactly what they did.

    Oh, wait, forget that. The 18th hole was for some, and other holes further inside were for others. The back nine at Le Golf National shows a new face with each round played. One leader made just two pars. Two leaders finished with eagle 3s.

    Heading into the fourth round, two co-leaders are at minus nine, two more are at minus seven, and one is a further stroke behind. We’ve learned about twenty things in the last half hour of play, but I’ll whittle them down to a handful. Let’s take a look at the five things we learned on the third day of women’s golf competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

    1. Who tripped?

    Ruoning Yin (+3) and Pia Babnik (+2) did themselves no favors on Friday. Yin had six bogeys on the day, while Babnik wasted no time with a quadruple bogey on the 15th hole. Each of Yin’s lost shots began with a drive lost in the rough. And Babnik’s drive and first approach shot both landed in the water on the 15th hole. Unsteadily, she needed another four shots to reach the bottom of the hole. Yin is five shots behind the leaders, while Babnik is seven. Logic suggests that each would need to set a course record to secure a spot on the podium; with nothing to lose, either could go all in and strike it rich.

    2. Who was promoted?

    Lydia Ko and Miya Yamashita each shot 68 on day three. Ko lost two strokes on errant approach shots. On holes seven and twelve, she found the fairway off the tee and then botched her play inside. She made up for those errors with six birdies. Most importantly, she avoided all that H2O on the way home. Yamashita posted the most boring scorecard of the day. Four birdies, fourteen pars, no hikes along the cliffs of doom, no swimming attempts in the ponds. Just the kind of play that could earn her a medal on Sunday. Ko tied for first place, while Yamashita tied for third.

    Close behind is Atthaya Thitikul from Thailand. Thitikul almost made up for this 68 with a 69 of his own. A mixed first round with three pars, birdies and bogeys was followed by a home round with three birdies and no bogeys. A missed putt from 12 feet on the last hole put Thitikul in sixth place on six under par.

    3. Fly like an eagle, eagle, eagle

    Morgane Metraux, the leader of the second round, had problems with her shot, lost oil, built up lactic acid… whatever you want to call it. Three bogeys on holes ten to thirteen made her wonder Do I have what it takes?? A birdie on the 14th hole soothed the wound and she moved up to 18th place. A powerful eagle on the home hole, thanks to a fairway drive and a 20-foot approach shot, put her on pole position, tied with Lydia Ko.

    If Metraux can ignore or even forget her position on day four, she could win a medal on Saturday. As with the stumblers, nothing offers a better chance of success than a mindset that would see her give it her all over the final eighteen holes.

    4. Turned upside down

    Céline Boutier is the one being pinned more on this week than anyone not named Nelly. After opening with a 65-stroke stint, the French hopeful struggled for two days. She recovered on Friday with a one-under 71, but now sits tied for seventh, five shots behind the leading duo.

    Nothing describes Boutier’s current situation better than her second nine holes on day three. She started positively, with par and two birdies on her way to a good finish. A triple bogey on the 13th caused the machine to break loose, and a bogey on the 15th threatened to send her back on the course. Boutier took a deep breath and gave it some more, finishing with birdies on the last three holes and heading into day four with optimism.

    5. Who is dangerous on Saturday?

    Boutier could potentially reach 65 seconds. If she does, she could be on the podium. Nelly Korda hasn’t broken 70 yet, so Sunday promises to be either 62 or 82. If she’s that close and can flip the switch, then watch out. If she gets that frustrated and loses her composure, she’ll duck. Either way, she’ll provide some memorable moments on day four.

    I also think Thitikul is dangerous on Saturday and Janet Lin’s reputation is rising. Despite all these great names, I predict an Andean triumph in Paris. Mariajo Uribe will ride off into the international sunset with a final round of 63 and a gold medal around her neck, draped in a Colombian flag.

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    Madoc Meredith
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