KAWAGOE, Japan – For the second consecutive week a playoff was needed to round out the medal podium at the Olympic golf competition, but the outcome for the women’s event was far less dramatic.
Last Sunday, C.T. Pan won a 7-for-1 playoff for the bronze medal that lasted four holes and included crowd favorite Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa. By comparison, Saturday’s overtime was for the silver and bronze medals after Japan’s Mone Inami and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko – who both shot closing-round 65s – finished tied for second at 16 under.
Both players held a share of the lead during the final round but were unable to keep pace with Nelly Korda, who finished at 17 under to claim gold.