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Inbee Park two clear heading into women's Olympic finale
Inbee Park is a round away from winning the first women’s Olympic golf gold medal since 1900.
The seven-time major winner carries a two-shot lead into the final round in Rio de Janeiro, leading over American Gerina Piller and world No. 1 Lydia Ko at 11-under 201.
The South Korean Hall-of-Famer skipped the LPGA’s last two majors, the U.S. Women’s Open and Women’s British Open, with a left thumb injury. She rested with the hopes of contending in Brazil, and, this week, she’s on a mission to show that the time out of the spotlight was worth it.
“I just gave my body a good rest and I tried to gather a lot of things mentally. Tried to come here mentally and physically strong, and that’s what I did,” Park said. “I didn’t expect much of a result, but what I want to do is I want to show all the people how hard I’ve worked.”
Ko shot 65 on Friday to rocket up the leaderboard in a round that included her first-career hole-in-one on the 140-yard eighth hole, where China’s Xiyu Lin scored an ace earlier in the day for the fourth of the pair of Olympic tournaments.
“I would have loved to like done a dance or jumped up and down, but that situation, I think I was almost trying to cry, and then I realized, hey, I’ve got 11 more holes,” said Ko.
Piller, 31, has never won on the LPGA Tour but has gotten increasingly closer to that first trophy with eight top-10 finishes this season. She could well have a resume after Saturday that doesn’t have a LPGA title, but she would gladly take the gold medal.
“I allow myself to think about it,” said Piller after shooting 68 in difficult, windy conditions on Friday. “Because I’m a firm believer that when you see yourself doing something, and you keep running that through your mind, then you’re more likely to do that. Just really see myself in contention, up at the top of the leaderboard, standing on that podium and just really giving myself belief and self-talk that I do belong there. I feel like I have a chance at this.”
The trio will play together in the final grouping on Saturday, with tee times bumped up and off the first and 10th tees to accommodate a forecast that calls for high winds and potential thunderstorms.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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