Six days after the unforgettable golf festival that ended the men’s tournament of this Olympics on Sunday, we must prepare for the same royal Saturday for the epilogue of the women’s event. Because behind the tandem consisting of the surprising Swiss Morgane Metraux, 137th in the world, and the one who still occupies the first place last year, Lydia Ko, leaders of -9, the fight should be raring for the podium.
There is the American nugget Rose Zhang (3rd, -7), as well as three outsiders to watch closely (Miyu Yamashita, Attahya Thitikul and Mariajo Uribe) but above all the two superstars of the Golf National since Wednesday, namely the n° 1 world Nelly Korda and the French n°1 Céline Boutier (both at -4). The two golfers who have generated the most enthusiasm since the start of the tournament will be brought to the same match that will undoubtedly attract most of the 30,000 spectators expected in Yvelines for this fourth round where the final places are the fight between now and their departure, at 12:17 sharp.
To reach this dream scenario, it took a Boutier full of courage, able to make an incredible burst of pride to end his day with three birdies, as he emerged from a black hole, like the previous day, from 13 to 15 inclusive. . But the queen remains the holy Korda, who these days changes the worst, as at the beginning of this 3rd round (bogeys on 1 and 3), and the best (birdies on 6, then on 7 decorated with a chip boxed from the rough , and in 9, 14 and 15) looking for a sight and a dazzling smile to keep the chance to participate in the fight for the podium where he occupied the highest step in Tokyo in 2021.
Carried by the crowd, the American, daughter of the former world number 2 in tennis Petr Korda, the winner of the Australian Open in 1998, and the new Texan, who lives in Dallas, however their work cut off for them right of wrong reduced to no hope for a gold medal, the only metal desired in the world of golf, from the attitude that any other place than the first is synonymous with failure.
Let’s see if Morgan Metraux doesn’t get dizzy with the idea of playing a final game with a stake comparable to a Major. By remaining the leader after losing the course for the third time (70, 66, 71), the Vaudoise showed that a moving day being heckled is unlikely to disturb his zenitude. And if she falters in the final turns, we can be sure that Lydia Ko will hold the house. Winner of two Majors (Amundi Evian Championship 2015 and Chevron Championship 2016), the double Olympic medalist (silver in Rio, bronze in Tokyo) dreams of climbing the only step where access has been blocked to him until now. The promise of a feverish Saturday is there, in this Albatros where the vibrations of the 2018 Ryder Cup are like the eternal guarantee of a grandiose spectacle when the best in the world come together.