The women’s golf competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics gets underway on Wednesday, August 7, at Le Golf National in Paris, France. Sixty of the world’s best female golfers will face off just outside the City of Lights as they battle for a spot on the podium and for a highly coveted gold medal. Here are five things you need to know ahead of the women’s golf competition at the Paris Olympics.
Field Breakdown
Thirty-three countries are represented in the 60-player field at Le Golf National, and two of those nations will have three athletes competing in the event. Team USA will see Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 and reigning gold medalist Nelly Korda once again play for the Red, White and Blue, and she is joined this year by two-time major champion Lilia Vu and two-time LPGA Tour winner Rose Zhang, both of whom are making their Olympic debuts. The Republic of Korea also has three representatives in the field, including 15-time LPGA Tour champion Jin Young Ko, 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner Amy Yang and major champion Hyo Joo Kim.
The field is also highlighted by Shannon Tan, who is the first Singaporean ever to play in an Olympic golf competition, and Minjee Lee, whose brother Min Woo represented Australia in the men’s competition that concluded on August 4. Two-time U.S. Women’s Open winner Yuka Saso is another athlete set to tee it up at Le Golf National and will be representing Japan for the first time since taking citizenship following the Tokyo Olympics. She represented the Philippines in her Olympic debut in 2021 and ultimately finished in a tie for ninth in Japan.
Reigning Medalists
Two of the 2020 medal winners are in this year’s field in Paris, France. Now 14-time LPGA Tour winner Nelly Korda took home the gold medal at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan, winning by just a single stroke over Mone Inami and Lydia Ko with a four-day total of 17-under. Inami and Ko both finished at 16-under and needed extra holes to decide who would claim silver and who would take bronze. The Japan native ultimately outlasted Ko in a sudden-death playoff to become that year’s silver medalist, while Ko took home bronze, her second Olympic medal, as she won silver in 2016 at the Rio Olympics. Inami did not qualify to represent Japan in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Le Golf National
Le Golf National is a venue that is incredibly familiar to men’s golf, as the facility annually hosts the Open de France on the DP World Tour and was the home of the Ryder Cup in 2018. But it’s not as familiar for the women competing in this year’s Olympic Games. Few in the 60-player field have ever played the course, which is located in Southwest Paris, leveling any advantages that those with past Olympic experience might have had this week in France. Le Golf National was designed by Hubert Chesneau and Robert von Hagge with help from Pierre Thevenin and was opened in 1990. In addition to the aforementioned events, the course has also hosted the men’s and women’s World Amateur Team Championships, the Eisenhower Trophy and the Espirito Santo Trophy.
Brother-Sister Act
Minjee Lee is playing in her third Olympic Games this week in Paris, France, but this time around is a little bit more special for the 28-year-old Australian as she is getting to share the experience with her younger brother Min Woo. This was Min Woo’s first time representing Australia in the Olympics, and he finished in a tie for 22nd last week after posting a 72-hole total of 7-under at Le Golf National. Minjee is still working to earn her first Olympic medal and will be looking to better her T7 showing in Rio and her T29 showing in Tokyo this week in Paris.
History of Women’s Golf in the Olympics
The first and only time a women’s golf competition was held at the Olympics prior to 2016 was during the 1900 Paris Olympics. It was an all-American podium that year as Margaret Abbott took gold, Pauline Whittier claimed silver and Abbie Pratt earned bronze. Women’s golf was nixed from the Games after 1900, only making its return to the Olympic slate in Rio over a century later in 2016. Inbee Park won gold that year, with Lydia Ko taking silver and Shanshan Feng capturing bronze in Brazil. The women’s golf competition was held again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and saw Nelly Korda win gold, Mone Inami earn silver and Lydia Ko take home the bronze.
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