Thrilling finish to ladies golf at Kasumigazeki
Young American golfer Nelly Korda clinched the Gold Medal at the Olympics Tokyo 2021 just a few days after her 23rd birthday. The Number One Golfer in the World, and six-time winner on the LPGA Tour, shot rounds of 67,62,69,69 to get to 17-under par 267 to win the Olympics at the par-71 Kasumigazeki Country Club by one tiny shot. And what a final day it was.
Nelly Korda held off scathing attacks by a number of players all week. On day two, 5 August, was the day on which she had the dream of a scintillating score of 59 right up until the last hole. Alas, she ended with a double-bogey for a 62 instead of a birdie. However, the excitement of a below-sixty round filled her with unprecedented hope for an Olympic medal, preferably gold.
How did Nelly pull-off a Gold Medal in Tokyo?
Nelly Korda was born in Florida and turned professional in 2016. She had been on a roll at the Kasumigazeki Country Club all week after opening with a 4-under par 67, tied with Aditi Ashok from India. They were one shot behind the leader from Sweden Madelene Sagström.
Korda’s sister was also competing in the Olympics. Jessica, aged 28, finished in a tie for 15th position on 9-under par.
Heavy storms were forecast for the final day of play which would have seen Nelly Korda clinch the Gold Medal as she was three strokes ahead of the field after 54 holes. Luckily for the players there was just one rain delay on Saturday when Inami found herself in a bunker down the last. Play resumed after a one-hour delay but, alas, it cost her a bogey and she went on to lose to Nelly Korda by one shot.
The Korda family is well-used to performing at high levels. The girls are the daughters of retired Czech professional tennis players Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtová. Their father is a tennis grand slam champion who won the 1998 Australian Open crown. Her younger brother, Sebastian, won the 2018 Australian Open tennis title in the boys’ division. So Nelly and Jessica are well-used to the trials and tribulations of performing at the top.
The medal winners came from far and wide: America, Japan and New Zealand. Mone Inami and Lydia Ko pushed Korda all the way before having to settle for silver and bronze medals. They both finished on a score of 16-under par before a one-hole play-off saw Inami sweep the silver medal from Ko. Incidentally, Lydia Ko won the silver medal in the Rio Olympics 2016 which means she is the only golfer to have won more than one Olympic medal in golf after a 112-year absence. Prior to 2016, it was in 1904 that the sport of golf last appeared in the Olympics. Indeed, four years earlier, it was an American lady Margaret Ives Abbott who won a golf medal in the games.
Dutch player Anne van Dam had a disappointing week in Japan. The player from Arnhem was the only Dutch golfer who teed-off but had to settle for 57th spot after shooting 14-over par. The British players, Melanie Reid and Jodi Ewart Shadoff finished in the lower realms too. Reid in 55th and Ewart Shadoff in a share of 40th.
Korda fights off the field down the last
The winner Nelly Korda teed-off on the final day with a 3-shot lead which she let slip on the front nine and became co-leader for a while. On the back nine, she soared ahead again with another 3-shot lead. However, six steady pars on the last six holes left her struggling with the field hot on her heels. Nelly had had just two double-bogeys all week. Could she hold on to her victory?
Yes, she succeeded in holding off the rest of the world. This was a great achievement – The Gold Medal of the Olympics Tokyo 2021. The Gold Medal was truly hers at 17-under par, one tiny shot clear of Mone Inami and Lydia Ko.
Many, many congratulations to you Nelly Korda! Brilliantly played! You are the Gold Medal winner at the Olympics Tokyo 2021 – a treasured performance which you share with the men. Gold Medal winner American Xander Schauffele is delighted too!
Wendy Hoad
2021 Olympic medals in Tokyo
Kasumigazeki Country Club, par 71.
Gold Medal – Nelly Korda (USA) 67,62,69,69 (267) 17-under
Silver Medal – Mone Inami (Japan) 16-under
Bronze Medal – Lydia Ko (New Zealand) 16-under *after a play-off with Mone Inami
© MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: Young American Nelly Korda (centre) is swept away with joy at winning the Gold Medal in the Olympics Tokyo. Pictured left Mone Inami and right Lydia Ko. MINIS (l-r): Madelene Sagström and Nelly Korda.