The Swiss golfers have made an excellent start to the Olympic tournament. Morgane Métraux is on the podium after the first of four days and Albane Valenzuela is also in the top 15.
Morgane Métraux and Albane Valenzuela started the Olympic golf tournament with faint hopes of a medal. And after the first round on the Golf National course in the south-west of Paris, these hopes have at least not diminished. Morgane Métraux is in a tie for 3rd place after the first 18 holes with 70 strokes and therefore two under par in her debut under the Olympic rings.
The 27-year-old managed a birdie a total of four times, meaning she put the ball in the hole with one stroke less than planned. However, she also needed an extra shot (bogey) twice. On the last hole, the Lausanne native even had a chance to make up two strokes. However, the long putt just missed the target, but thanks to the well-made shot she still lifted herself into the top 3.
Albane Valenzuela was in 3rd place after two birdies during her round. However, the Geneva native lost a total of three strokes on the 12th and 13th holes. However, Valenzuela, who finished 18th in Tokyo three years ago and 21st in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, was able to make up the deficit immediately and complete the par round.
In total, only twelve of the sixty athletes who started finished the first day under par. The leader is the local Céline Boutier. The Frenchwoman, who regularly trains on the course, remained seven strokes under the course standard and therefore has a three-stroke lead over second-placed South African Ashleigh Buhai ahead of the second round on Thursday.
Nelly Korda, the world number one and Olympic champion from Tokyo, is in a tie for 13th place with Valenzuela after a par round.
SDA
