Nelly Korda reached her tee changeable connected the last spread of an different flawless round, looked up and saw a heavy conifer subdivision blocking her way to the green. She flung her h2o vessel toward her play container and tried to fig retired the adjacent option.
Any thoughts of the 2nd 59 successful women's play past ended there.
The pursuit of a golden medal?
Stronger than ever, adjacent with a treble bogey connected the 18th spread that forced the 23-year-old American to settee for a 9-under 62 to necktie the Olympic grounds successful women's golf.
Already a large champion and the No. 1 subordinate successful women's golf, Korda looked ascendant arsenic ever successful the 2nd circular to physique a four-shot lead, moving a large measurement person to Olympic gold.
"I've had a batch of bully rounds this year. I've been playing truly well," Korda said. "I deliberation I've had a mates of 9 unders, truthful it was decidedly 1 of the best, yes. But play humbles you. I got a bully small treble connected 18."
She was astatine 13-under 129 and mislaid 2 shots for what inactive looks similar a large lead. How overmuch person she is to winning is inactive to beryllium determined.
Players already person been alerted to the anticipation of a 54-hole tourney due to the fact that of a forecast for a tropical tempest connected the weekend. Tee times person been moved guardant Friday to bushed the heat, and the program is commencement adjacent earlier Saturday if the upwind allows.
So overmuch is up successful the air. But there's nary doubting who's successful control.
"I was hoping that I would drawback connected with her momentum and play good myself, but I wasn't capable to," said Nasa Hataoka, who played with Korda. "It felt similar Nelly scooped distant each the birdies from america today."
She played the past 5 holes connected the beforehand 9 astatine Kasumigaseki successful 6-under par — that included a 3-wood to 25 feet for eagle connected the reachable par-4 sixth — for a 30.
Korda made consecutive 6-foot birdie putts connected the 16th and 17th holes, putting her astatine 11 nether for the round. One much birdie would person allowed her to articulation Annika Sorenstam successful 2001 arsenic the lone pistillate to sprout 59.
"I wasn't reasoning astir it astatine all," she said of a birdie for 59. "I was like, 'Oh, cool, I person a beauteous bully pb going into 18.' Unfortunate that treble connected 18, but that's play and that's conscionable however it goes sometimes."
The tee changeable was hammered and bounded done the fairway. She was partially stymied.
"I would person had to gully it astir retired of the rough. I conscionable didn't deliberation it was worthy it, honestly," Korda said. "I was much thinking, 'OK, transportation it retired and past effort to get it adjacent and effort to prevention par.' But I was a small excessively cute with that transportation shot."
It recovered a bunker — the pin was beforehand — blasted retired to 8 feet and missed the putt.
That's astir the lone happening that didn't spell Korda's way.
Her 62 inactive tied the Olympic women's grounds acceptable by Maria Verchenova of Russia past clip successful the last circular astatine Olympic Golf Course successful Rio de Janeiro.
All she cared astir was starring by 4 shots implicit the Danish duo of Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Emily Kristine Pederson, and Aditi Ashok of India, who is giving up plentifulness of region and small other successful her bid for a medal.
Welcome to Wide World of Sports' regular unrecorded sum of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Here are each the latest Olympics quality updates and headlines for Day 14.
Today determination are medals up for grabs successful athletics, formation volleyball, boxing, way cycling, football, hockey, karate, modern pentathlon, athletics climbing, array tennis, and wrestling.
The pursuing events diagnostic Aussie athletes. All times AEST.
Athletics greeting league from 6.30am - Men's 50km Race Walk 6.30am - Rhydian Cowley (AUS), Women's 20km Race Walk - Katie Hayward (AUS) - 5.30pm
Canoe Sprint from 10.30am
Golf - Women's Individual Stroke Play Round 3 - Minjee Lee (AUS) - from 8.30am
Gymnastics - Women's Rhythmic Individual - Lidiia Iakovleva (AUS) - 11.20am
Beach Volleyball – Australia v USA successful golden medal lucifer - 12.30pm
Karate - Men's Kata, Women's Kumite - 11am-3.48pm
Modern Pentathlon - from 3.30pm-7.30pm
Boxing – Harry Garside (AUS) successful semi-final - 3.47pm
Diving - Men's 10m Platform Preliminary - Cassiel Rousseau (AUS) 4pm
Track cycling, including Women's Madison Final, Men's Sprint Final - 4.30-8pm
Artistic swimming - squad method regular - 8.30pm
Athletics nighttime league - from 9.30pm-midnight
English (US) ·