Switzerland is likely to be represented twice in the women's Olympic golf tournament. Albane Valenzuela and Morgane Métraux meet the requirements for participation in the Games in Paris.
25.06.2024, 10:25
SDA
If Swiss Olympic follow the proposal of Swiss Golf as expected and select the duo, Albane Valenzuela will be competing under the five rings for the third time. Morgane Métraux qualified for the Games in Tokyo three years ago, but then decided to withdraw.
Albane Valenzuela competed in her first Olympic tournament eight years ago in Rio de Janeiro as an amateur. She finished 21st in Brazil. Five years later in Tokyo, she finished 18th.
Top goal
This season, Albane Valenzuela has once again improved her position on the American LPGA Tour, thanks in part to second place in the tournament in Pattaya, Thailand. So far this year, she has earned a good 356,000 dollars in prize money. She is currently number 70 in the world rankings. For the 26-year-old proette, taking part in Paris was "my ultimate goal this season".
"The experience of taking part in the Olympics can't be compared to anything else in the world. Even my twenty-plus appearances in major tournaments on the LPGA don't come close," says the Swiss woman, who lives in the USA, in an interview with Golf magazine.
Second chance for Morgane Métraux
Morgane Métraux has been given a second chance. The 27-year-old from Lausanne had decided not to take part in Tokyo because she was fighting for promotion to the LPGA Tour at the same time.
Morgane Métraux is currently ranked 127th in the world rankings, which is also easily enough for a starting place in the 60-strong professional field. However, her greatest success this season was not in the United States, but at the end of May when she won the Ladies European Tour in France.
There she won ahead of her Swiss colleague Chiara Tamburlini, who briefly held the second starting place for the games in Paris. The player from eastern Switzerland had only won for the first time on the same tour in South Africa in April, overtaking Morgane Métraux in the decisive world rankings. Thanks to further top results, the player from western Switzerland has now definitely recommended herself for participation in the French capital.
Men's tournament probably without Swiss players
Switzerland will probably not be represented in the men's golf tournament starting on August 1st. Joel Girrbach from Thurgau missed out on his first victory on the DP World Tour by two strokes at the beginning of May. As a result, he is a few points short of direct qualification in the world rankings. In the 60-strong field for Paris, the best Swiss player is the first "substitute" 22 times, so he could still get a chance to start in the event of an injury.
