From starting at 6-over par to begin the women’s golf tournament of the 2024 Paris Olympics to finishing 3-under, former Azahara Muñoz pushed the early struggles behind her to end on a high note.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Entering Saturday morning, Muñoz was even before her Round 4 performance that saw her end in a five-way tie for 13th. In Round 1, she was in 50th place and shot up the leaderboard ever since.
The quick turnaround by the Spaniard saw her as the highest-ranked golfer with Arizona State ties in the women’s tournament.
Linn Grant (Sweden) finished in a two-way tie for 27th place with a 1-over, and Alexandra Försterling (Germany) shot a 2-under on Saturday to improve to 4-over overall and 35th place. Muñoz’s Spanish teammate Carlota Ciganda’s continuous woes rolled into Round 4 as she posted a 4-over to add to her 13-over total. Alessandra Fanali (Italy) wrapped up her time at the Olympics with a 16-over, the seventh-worst score in the tournament.
As for the rest of the tournament, Round 3 leader Morgane Metraux (Switzerland) crumbled on the final day. She started Saturday with back-to-back bogeys, including a triple-bogey at the par-4 fifth. With bogeys at the 12th and 14th and a double-bogey at the par-4 17th, they sealed her fate as she scored a 7-over 79, placing 18th.
The eventual gold medalist, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, was tied with Metraux going into Round 4 before she came out victorious. She had a 1-under 71 to win by two shots over Esther Henseleit (Germany) who shot a 6-under on Saturday, one the best performances of the day. Lin Xiyu (China) took home bronze with a 7-under.
Here are the top performers on the Olympic leaderboard at Le Golf National:
- Lydia Ko (New Zealand): -10 | GOLD
- Esther Henseleit (Germany): -8 | SILVER
- Lin Xiyu (China): -7 | BRONZE
- Bianca Pagdanganan (Phillipenes): -6
- Hannah Green (Australia): -6
- Amy Yang (South Korea): -6
- Miyū Yamashita (Japan): -6
- Hsu Wei-ling (Chinese Taipei): -5
- Rose Zhang (United States): -5
- Maja Stark (Sweden): -4
- Yin Ruoning (China): -4
- Mariajo Uribe (Columbia): -4
- Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland): -3
- Dottie Ardina (Philippines): -3
- Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa): -3
- Azahara Muñoz (Spain): -3
- Brooke Henderson (Canada): -3
- Chien Peiyun (Chinese Taipei): -2
- Céline Boutier (France): -2
- Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand): -2
- Morgane Metraux (Switzerland) -2
- Minjee Lee (Australia): -1
- Pia Babnik (Slovenia): -1
- Nelly Korda (United States) -1
- Kim Hyo-joo (South Korea): EVEN
- Ko Jin-young (South Korea): EVEN
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
