Nelly Korda, the reigning Olympic champion from Team USA, appeared poised to defend her gold medal during the second round of the Olympic Golf Competition in Paris.
Korda, 26, started with a level-par 72 in the first round and quickly moved into contention in the second round. With a series of impressive birdies on the front nine and additional birdies on the 11th and 15th holes, she surged into second place, closely trailing the leader, Morgane Metraux of Switzerland.
However, Korda’s round took a disastrous turn on the par-3 16th hole. Her tee shot fell short, landing in the water, and her third shot found a greenside bunker, where the ball became embedded in the sand. The resulting quadruple-bogey seven dropped her from 6-under par to 2-under par. Despite this setback, Korda managed to regain some momentum by birdying the 18th hole, finishing the round with a 2-under 70. She now sits tied for 12th place at 2-under par, six strokes behind Metraux, who leads at 8-under par.
Korda remains in the race to defend her title, but the challenge ahead is steep as she heads into the weekend.
