The final day of the women's golf competition at the Tokyo Olympics was held at the Kasumigaseki Country Club on Saturday where Nelly Korda (USA) ranked No.1 in the world took the gold with a dominating performance, finishing at 17 under par.
Japanese Mone Inami became the first Japanese golfer to win an Olympic medal, capturing silver in a playoff over New Zealand's Lydia Ko. Starting the day 5 back, she played aggressively and carded a 65 with 9 birdies and 3 bogies, for joint second at -16.
The 1st play off hole was the difficult 18th, which Inami saved par, while Ko missed her par putt, and the game was settled. On the JLPGA tour, Inami is 3 for 3 in playoffs, and was able to draw on that experience to produce a historic scene.
Elsewhere in the field, Japan's Nasa Hataoka and Yuka Saso (Philippines) both improved their scores to -10 in total and performed well for a tied ninth place.
Nelly Korda after the round stated “Lydia was playing really well, so was Mone, they both played super well, so we were all bunched up there,” she said. “It was very stressful, but I kept it together. I fought pretty hard. The remaining two holes I was nervous, but my sister was with me during the weather delay to keep me company, I was able to chat and relax with her, and thanks to that, I was able to stay calm".
Mone Inami after draining a 13- footer on 17 after a weather delay, had a share of the lead going into the last hole, but put her approach into a bunker and failed to make par settling with bogey and a tie for 2nd.
"I carry the Hinomaru on my back and to win a medal is the most honorable thing I have done in my life. The reason I was able to win the silver medal was that my putting had improved so much. Looking back, The fact I was able to participate in the Tokyo Olympics is a miracle. I am so grateful to everyone who supported us".
