Among the early risers on the second day of the women’s Olympic golf competition, there are two players who have decided to step on the accelerator at Le Golf National and, for the moment, rise to the top of the leaderboard.
There is one of those players who everyone counted on in the pre-tournament predictions and there is another who probably didn’t even appear among the top twenty contenders. Such is golf.
With scores of 66 and 67 strokes, the Swiss Morgane Metraux (-8) and the New Zealander Lydia Ko (-5) occupy the top two spots in the tournament, at the time of writing these lines.
Let’s start with the surprise. Metraux has excelled in golf today to go eight under par in total. The Swiss does not know what it is to win on the LPGA and her best world ranking was 116 just a year ago. It is true that she has won twice on the Ladies European Tour, the last time just three months ago precisely in France, at the Jabra Ladies Open which is held at the same venue as the Evian. However, the reality is that Metraux has never been in such a situation before.
A possible victory in Paris would be, by far, the best result of her career and would put Suzann Pettersen in a tight spot to be one of the chosen ones for the Solheim Cup which is held in just over a month. It is not time to get ahead of ourselves, but there will surely be many eyes on the next 36 holes.
It is a curiosity, but three years ago the Swiss player declined to go to the Tokyo Games in order to focus on getting the LPGA card as she did. Her refusal allowed her sister Kim to attend the Olympic event. Three years later, Morgan is rubbing shoulders with the medals. Ironies of fate. A step back can mean a big step forward.
Metraux’s round was brilliant with a first half to remember. Eight under par in nine holes with four birdies and two eagles on the respective par fives that Le Golf National has at the start. The round was record-breaking, but keeping the pace was an absolute chimera. Three bogeys and a birdie in the second nine allowed her to hand in a card of 66 strokes.
On the other hand, second on the leaderboard we find Lydia Ko (-5). The New Zealander is the only player who has been on the podium in the last two editions of the Olympic Games and is looking for her particular hat-trick in Paris. Silver in Rio de Janeiro, bronze in Tokyo. Will she manage to close the circle with the coveted gold? Only a painful three-putt on hole 18 prevented her from finishing a little closer to the Swiss.
After a card of 72 strokes on the first day, today Lydia has managed to find the ticklish spots on the course with six birdies without a mistake until the last flag of the day where she made her only mistake. The double Olympic medallist has been particularly accurate with the putter.
The morning’s crash was suffered by Celine Boutier (-3). The Frenchwoman’s round was not going badly, who on the first day had given a display with a card of 65 strokes. Up to hole 14 she had a partial of one under par. It was not being the whirlwind of Wednesday, but it served to keep her close to the top. At that moment Celine collapsed with two double bogeys and a bogey in just three holes and with two visits to the water included. Boutier was five strokes down and dropped to -3 with which she finally finished. Her magnificent round yesterday still allows her to dream of great things, but the margin of error that she built yesterday has blown up in just three flags.
In the national section, the reaction of Azahara Muñoz (+3) stands out. The Andalusian started absolutely unleashed with four birdies in the first five holes and after two stumbles and another success she closed the first half with -3 on the day. That’s how Aza would finish, closing the day with nine consecutive pars. Brilliant reaction from the Spaniard, although as she started, a round like Metraux’s was dreamed of.
