SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux gave up her spot to her sister in the last Olympics so she could concentrate on her tour status.
It proved worth the wait when she had the stage to herself Thursday at Le Golf National in the second round of the women’s golf tournament at the Paris Games.
Metraux had eight 3s on her card on the front nine — an 8-under-par 28 — until getting slowed by the wind and a bad shot at the wrong time. She still finished off a 6-under 66, putting her at 8-under 136 through 36 holes for a one-shot lead over China’s Ruoning Yin (65).
One week after the men’s competition had a dynamic medal chase on the same course, the women lined up for some special possibilities of their own.
Lydia Ko, the only golfer to win medals in the past two Olympics, had a 67 and was only three shots behind, alone in third. The 27-year-old from New Zealand — she reached No. 1 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings at age 17 — won the silver in Rio de Janeiro in 20016 and the bronze three years ago in Tokyo. A gold would put her into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe is retiring from golf and wanted the Olympics to be her final competition. She had another 70 and was four behind, tied with Slovenia’s Pia Babnik (66). France’s Celine Boutier had the home crowd chanting and singing again, but she had three straight 6s on her card along the back nine for a 76. She was five behind, tied for sixth with five other players.
Nelly Korda, who won gold in Tokyo and is currently the top-ranked woman in golf, could have been right there. The 26-year-old from Florida was 6 under on the day until one bad swing, one bad lie and three putts for a quadruple bogey on the par-3 16th on the way to a 70 that left her six behind.
Korda and Rose Zhang, who also had a 70, were tied for 12th and the highest Americans on the leaderboard.
“If I would have done this on the last day — or let’s say the third day — then I would be extremely heartbroken,” Korda said. “But I have 36 more holes, and anything can happen.”
The biggest surprise was Metraux, who was still on the developmental Epson Tour when the Tokyo Games arrived. She decided to keep playing that circuit to earn money toward an LPGA Tour card and was pleased that the alternate in line to replace her was her older sister, Kim.
“If anybody could take my spot, I was hoping it would be her and it worked out,” said Metraux, who turned 27 in March. “She had a bit of a different experience because of the whole COVID thing. … But she had stars in her eyes when she came back.”
Metraux was simply dazzling with a front nine that featured eagles on the par 5s, three straight birdies in the middle of the front nine and a par save on the tough par-4 seventh. Everything was going right.
Yin was warming up when she saw Metraux already at 6 under through six holes.
“I was talking to my coach, ‘How can someone shoot this low at this course?’ But I think it’s just her day,” Yin said.
That it was, until the end. Metraux went from the rough into the water fronting the 15th green, salvaging a bogey after the penalty drop by clipping her wedge to create enough spin for the ball to check up right next to the hole.
On the par-5 18th, she had 177 yards to the pin and hit her worst shot of the day. It came up just short, bouncing off the wooden frame around the green and into the water.
“Only got a bogey out of it. I wish I didn’t, but it’s fine. I’m still in a great position for the last two days,” Metraux said.
It could be a wild chase. Yin is a former Women’s PGA Championship winner who briefly reached No. 1 in women’s golf late last year, and the 21-year-old from China looked as good as ever by starting with three straight birdies and keeping a clean card on a tough, windy day.
Ko was bogey-free as she moved her way into contention. She also was slowed on the 18th without losing a golf ball. She went from rough to rough, over the green into more rough and couldn’t salvage a par.
But she was only three behind and trying to keep from looking ahead.
“It’s really cool that if I did win the gold, I could get in the Hall of Fame, and it would stop all these questions,” she said. “But I’m playing along (with) 59 other of the top-qualified players here, and there’s 36 holes to go.”
Besides, she said, Le Golf National is a course that offers up good scores yet can bite back without a moment’s notice.
No need telling that to Korda. She was two shots behind when she was between clubs on the 136-yard 16th hole with a front pin. She went with the longer 9-iron, didn’t fully commit and leaked it enough right that it took a hard hop into the water.
From the drop zone, her wedge came up short into a plugged lie in the bunker. Instead of it coming out heavy, she blasted it to the back of the green and three-putted from 90 feet. That added to a 7, dropping her from a tie for second to a tie for 12th.
Asked if she was playing well enough to make up six shots in two days, Korda said it was up to her.
“If I’m hitting it well off the tee — which I was today, and I was hitting good shots in and giving myself opportunities — yes,” she said. “If I’m hitting it bad, then no. It’s all about if I can get my whole game together for the next two days.”