But you don’t want to.

Because as gritty and as graceful as the newest member of the LPGA Hall of Fame plays this game, as much as you might miss her syrupy technique and her efficient strategic style of play in a game that seems intent on rewarding only the boldest and the brashest, what you come away with missing the most is the way this person travels. Like her tactical play down the 72nd hole, Ko seemingly glides through a life that probably seems as charmed as any. And yet you know deep down it always hasn’t been. Only someone as grounded as Ko can teach us that we are at our best when every moment isn’t only about us. That’s heady stuff when someone who knows she is the centre of attention is quick to reach out for someone else.

Ko, who clearly achieved a lifetime dream with her performance—a closing one-under par 71 for a 10-under total to win by two and qualify her as the youngest member of the LPGA hall— is the kind of player—no, person—who worries more about signing golf balls for scorers and standard bearers than signing the most important scorecard of her life. She’s the kind of player— no person—who’s cheering a playing partner’s putt for eagle when she herself is about to clinch the title that should be her sole focus. She’s the kind of player—no, person—who’s seen enough to know that being consumed with the result is missing the point. She knows how big this day was, and she’s not afraid to admit that it really isn’t all that big in the grand scheme of things. Ko may still be in her 20s, but she sounds like Mother Earth.

“I struggled a little bit in middle of this year, and I felt like I had lost a little bit of direction, and it helped me realise that, ‘Hey, it potentially might not happen,’” said Ko, who bested silver medalist Esther Henseleit (66) of Germany by two and Chinese bronze medalist Xiyu Lin (69) by three.

“There were two key people that said, ‘You know what, if it doesn’t happen, it’s OK. You’ve had an unbelievable career and just because you’re in the Hall of Fame, that doesn’t make you any different.”

Ko took solace and wisdom from her husband, Jun Chung, and mother, who introduced her to the game and has guided her through ups, downs, coaches, advisors, caddies, always finding a truth that only she can know. She has had to overcome controversies with teachers and others who wanted to take her game and career in different directions, and now finds herself in the kind of place that only is stable because of experience.

“They told me whether you’re in the Hall of Fame or not, we’re still proud of you, and the things you have accomplished has been so much more than like I could have ever asked for,” Ko said. “So I think they made me realize that, ‘Hey, even if it doesn’t happen, like that’s just my fate. I’m going to do my absolute best to keep putting myself in contention and in good position going into the final days, but whether it happens or not, like I think there’s a golf god somewhere that controls it.”

Lydia Ko celebrates winning the gold medal with Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux – PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU

There is this confident letting-go that Ko exhibits in the way she talks now that almost sounds like a kind of poetry. She knows for a time that she was the best player in the game, and yet she has the wisdom that comes from years in which she didn’t win at all. She was the No. 1 player in the world just two years ago, but failed to even make the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship the following year. Now, she’s back on the top of the mountain and yet she knows sometimes the view is what matters, not planting the flag.

“For it to have happened here at the Olympics is just unreal,” she said. “I do feel like I’m a mythical character in a story tale. It really couldn’t have gotten any better than I could have imagined, and I’ve had so many grateful things that happened in my career so far, and this really tops it. I couldn’t have asked for anything more to be honest.”

Ko’s final round here at the Olympics displayed the consistency that her game has come to be known for. She hit 10 fairways, 14 greens and made four birdies. And then in the same way, like in her life both inside and outside the ropes, she found herself blindsided by circumstance. A well-struck shot on the 13th hole surprisingly found the water, and within an instant a lead that had been almost insurmountable was down to a shot in the final few diabolical holes that have wrecked almost every other round this week.

Not this time, not for Ko. She was calm, and she was motivated to take control of the moment by not letting it get bigger than the next step.

Gold medalist Lydia Ko reacts on the podium – Andrew Redington

“I just said to myself that I’m going to keep focusing and focusing until the ball drops on the 18th hole because I’ve had so many interesting things that have happened in my career that I wanted to focus until the very end, and then just say, okay, now it’s done,” Ko said.

As with all the greats, when they get to a moment that defines a career, there were tears, and Ko’s came during the New Zealand national anthem, as they so often do at the Olympics. You sense that Ko knew that what was ahead of her—whatever retirement might mean and whenever it might come—was more important than what was behind her. She had run the race, and run it the way she wanted to.

For all intents and purposes, it might have looked like Ko’s final phrase was a closing birdie on the 72nd hole that secured the gold. But that would have been about her. Ko instead ended her Olympics by talking about others.

“I’ve had an unbelievable experience competing in my last three Olympics,” she said. “I think [the Olympics are] going to become a goal and dream for many junior golfers growing up. I hope that they are inspired, and kids in China and Germany and all of these other countries with players that are here representing this week and last week are going to be inspired to be here or playing in L.A. [site of the 2028 Olympics] or Brisbane [2032 Olympics] in the future. I think that’s a big key. All of us are here as athletes and trying to do our best, but at the same time we want to inspire the future generations, and I think this week has been exactly that.”

Inspired by the words of Simone Biles, Ko spent this week telling herself and others that “I get to write my own ending.” Saturday, outside of Paris, Ko found all the right words at all the right moments. It would be a shame if we all couldn’t get to listen just a little longer.

Main Image: Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP

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“The swing didn’t quite feel as good on the back nine, and obviously, if you’re just slightly off, it just gets really tricky out here,” she said Thursday after posting her six-under 66 total. “The rough is really thick, and the greens are firm. So it’s not that I’ve played much worse. It’s just one or two shots. There’s not that big of a difference, but the score just changes quite quickly.”

Even with that indifferent finish that saw her bogey two of the final four treacherous holes at Le Golf National after hitting approach shots in the water, the 27-year-old pro found herself with a two-shot lead and an Albatros course record-low score for the first nine holes at the home of French golf. Her 28 featured eight 3s (including two eagles) and 81 feet of made putts, bettering the 29 Eduardo Romero shot on the front nine in 2005, when he established the course record of 62.

Metraux, the 137th-ranked player in the world who at one point this year was ranked as high as 206th, may not have come into Le Golf National with any kind of star power on her résumé or even on a mild heater. She missed two cuts in her last five events and her best finish otherwise was a T-47 at the LPGA Tour’s Dana Open. But she felt like her game was in the right place for the demands of the Le Golf National’s brutish layout, which played to a stroke average of 74 in Wednesday’s first round, and while playing about two strokes easier in the second round, was still averaging over par. Metraux hadn’t even seen the course before Monday, but she likes the way it is specific and relentless in its demands, like a drill sergeant or a dance mom.

“This is all very new for me,” she said. “But it’s very simple in a way in that you just have to hit the fairways and the greens here. If you don’t, it’s going to be difficult. I like it because it’s just in such good condition and it’s just a great course. If you hit the good shots, you’re going to be rewarded, and vice versa.”

She also thinks her game is better than the recent results have shown, which of course it would have to be after you shoot eight under for nine holes. Metraux, who at one point earlier this year missed five cuts in a row on the LPGA Tour, said she couldn’t really remember shooting a 28 before but recalled she did shoot an 11-under-par round at the Swiss Open one year. Of course, comparing the second round in the Olympics to the 2018 Lipperswil Swiss Golf Pro-Am is like comparing the Herz Milch from Confiserie Brändli in Basel to a Tootsie Roll found on the floor of a bodega in Bed Stuy. Indeed, while she did finish fifth in the LPGA ShopRite LPGA Classic in June, her next best finish on the LPGA Tour this year was a T-41. She also had a win on the Ladies European Tour in May at the Jabra Ladies Open, where she was pipped the 293rd-ranked player in the world.

Like trading in a minivan for a Maserati, she’s staring at a different assignment this week. Her second-round 66 gave her a two-shot lead heading into the closing 36, where she’ll be staring at a pack of chasers that includes a two-time Olympic medalist in Lydia Ko, who fashioned a 65 that easily could have been a 63, and Ruoning Yin, who won the 2023 LPGA Championship.

“I’ve worked well in the last week and prior to that,” she said. “I was feeling good about what I was doing. I just didn’t realize it was going to be that good. You know, it’s just constant work, isn’t it?”

Ranked 137th in the world, Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux is a surprise leader after 36 holes at Le Golf National – PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU

Metraux, who played her college golf at Florida State where she won three times and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Business Management, talks with that glorious unremarkable-ness from someone who’s played enough golf to realize that the good rounds and the bad rounds happen. The right work will produce results. You just have to learn to stay out of your own way.

“I knew my game was in a good spot,” she said. “The difference between today and yesterday was that the putts fell. The conditions here are so good that you know if you make a good roll they are going to go in.

“It was actually surprising. I was very calm standing around. It was nice to see your name on the leaderboard. It’s always fun to see Swiss flags and people shouting my name. When I make a birdie, they make a lot of noise. It’s fun to know there’s so many people supporting me. I don’t take it as pressure. I’m just happy I can perform in front of them. It’s really fun.”

Metraux missed out on the Tokyo Olympics after earning a spot in the field for the Amundi Evian Championship in 2021 while also trying to earn an LPGA card on the Epson Tour. She reasoned she couldn’t afford to miss that many events, including the Evian played near her home in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, one she had always dreamed of playing. As practical and efficient as a Swiss watch, she ended up earning her LPGA card that year, while giving her Olympics spot to her sister, Kim, who currently plays full time on the LET in Europe. She said her sister came back from Tokyo with stars in her eyes, stars she herself is seeing this week. She’s trying to stay on an even keel, even though she might be in the midst of a much bigger dream scenario. Even the bogey finish after her approach barely found the water didn’t sway her mood.

“It is what it is,” she said. “It’s fine. I only got a bogey out of it. I wish I didn’t, but it’s fine. I’m still in a great position.

“We’re just going just do the same tomorrow. Stick to the process. Same routines. See how it goes.”

In short, ho hum.

Main Image: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU

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Before contact, golf’s leaders were under plenty of pressure to show their game can find a prominent and secure place in the greatest athletic show on earth. Critics were carping that playing the men’s and women’s tournaments at 72-hole medal play squandered a golden opportunity to give the world a more innovative and exciting format. They contended that some combination of match play, team play, or mixed play would attract more new players and improve golf’s still stodgy image. Meanwhile, the fact that the game’s top players had become dramatically richer since the 2020 Olympics raised more doubts about how passionately the stars would compete.

But as they arrived in Paris, the players’ comments revealed a higher level of enthusiasm for the surroundings and the occasion. Then the men’s tournament satisfyingly produced three stimulating rounds of stroke play, followed by a final round that provided a Sunday finish that would rate with the most memorable major championships of recent years.

It was a convincing demonstration of medal play as the truest test of championship golf, strongly suggesting that golf in the Olympics golf doesn’t need to change much, if at all. There are indications some form of mixed-team play will be incorporated at Riviera Country Club for the Los Angeles Games in 2028. But it won’t make or break golf in the Olympics. As Paris showed, all golf needs to become part of the Olympic fabric is little time and a fair chance.

We’re only halfway home, of course, with the women’s battle for medals now underway. But there’s zero concern about ambivalence from the best women pros, for whom playing in the Olympics means an unparalleled opportunity to lift their profiles and their game. Consider that 14 women have played in all three Olympics, compared to only four men. And just like the men, who gratefully took energy from the teeming gallery, all 30,000 tickets to each round of the women’s tournament have been sold.

As it turned out, the men really, really cared. Jon Rahm, who had a four-stroke lead with eight to play, only to falter so badly that he didn’t medal, displayed a depth of disappointment in his gamely controlled post-round comments that renders simplistic his label of LIV mercenary. To me, that vulnerable and honest display by that particular golfer may go down as the moment golf and the Olympics were finally bonded.

Similarly, Scheffler, the winner who can be simplistically presumed a flatliner, couldn’t hold back the tears during the national anthem. In his last-round 62, Scheffler dug very deep, fighting his normally reliable driver but making up for it with miraculous irons shots from deep rough that can be legitimately called Nicklausian. And then, with birdies on four of the last five holes, Scheffler did what those who feel his immense skill remains underappreciated have been longing to see—the kind of clutch putting comeback that alters perceptions and can change careers.

The way Scheffler passed half a dozen guys on a stellar leaderboard with his closing 29 reminded me of Willie Mays at an All-Star Game (he played in 24 of them), using the grandest stage to show he was the best of the best. To my mind, only Armand Duplantis’ theatrical world record pole vault before a packed stadium, and Novak Djokovic attaining the career Golden Slam in tennis has had a more electrifying and moving individual performance in Paris. And one through which Scheffler single-handedly made Olympic golf bigger.

In his superb game story on Sunday, our Mike Stachura led with a comparison of Scheffler’s finish to American Billy Mills’ closing sprint to win the 10,000 meters at the 1964 Olympics. A reference I loved, because it hits the bigger point.

Which is that as good as the golf was, what really validates a sport in the Olympics is, simply, the Olympics. Just by being accepted into the Games, and then just by being itself, a worldwide sport—table tennis being a good example—gets a bump in prominence. And when there are outstanding individual performances like Scheffler’s, that bump becomes more significant. As intended by golf’s organisational leaders, the niche sport will grow less niche-y.

Gold medal winner Scottie Scheffler poses for a selfie with Japan bronze medalist Hideki Matsuyama and Great Britian silver medalist Tommy Fleetwood – Keyur Khamar

Perhaps I’m overstating. I will admit that as an old guy who grew up on its iconography, I’m a sucker for the Summer Games. My favourite movie as a kid was the 1951 biopic “Jim Thorpe: All American,” in which the best montage is Burt Lancaster as Thorpe killing it in the decathlon at the 1912 Olympics. I remember eating Wheaties before going to school from a box with two-time gold medal winning pole vaulter Bob Richards on the cover. And in 1968, I had the great fortune of attending the entire two weeks of the Mexico City Games and seeing just about every famous moment from that most momentous Olympics.

This year, through the TV screen (thank you Peacock), Paris brought back some of that old feeling. A great city on display for the world creates epic backdrops of beauty, scope and grandeur, and for the athletes, an energising feeling of mankind at its best. I was a young reporter at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 and could sense that magical air at the different venues, and it seemed that Paris has it as well. Le Golf National projected even better than it did at the 2018 Ryder Cup, its dangerous closing holes coming into play more often than they would in match play, weaving between the spacious amphitheaters so that the climatic moments were both more intimate and pressure packed.

But maybe the best thing about the golf in this Olympics is the timing. Right now, in a period of unprecedented destabilization and greed, the sport needs a counterpoint. The golfers themselves are ready for one and were happy to elevate Paris into that role in a way that wasn’t forced. Rory McIlroy, referencing the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, released some pent-up frustration when he said, “I think with how much of a shit show the game of golf is right now, and you think about the two tournaments that might be the purest form of competition in our sport, we don’t play for money in it. … It speaks volumes for what’s important in sports.”

And Scheffler got to the heart of the matter when he told the AP’s Doug Ferguson that the Olympics are “the rawest form of competition and it has an old school feel to it when you play the game because you love it.”

In the most romantic city in the world, that feel was apparent among the competitors in the men’s tournament and will be in the women’s as well. And after golf’s Mulligan has landed and Los Angeles becomes the next Olympic target, the golfers who took part in the turning point can begin to say to each other, “We’ll always have Paris.”

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Unfortunately, it appears she was right.

Hull shot a disastrous nine-over 81 during her first round on Thursday, sitting in 58th out of 60 players at the time of writing. It was a brutal performance from the World No. 11, and judging from the galleries at Le Golf National, not an altogether fair one.

While Hull wasn’t allowed to fire up a heater during her opening round, fans around the course were spotted smoking wherever they liked, despite the Olympic smoking policy, which limits tobacco use to designated smoking areas only. The following photos were taken by Golf Digest Senior Equipment Editor Mike Stachura at Le Golf National on Thursday morning.

Stachura said it wasn’t quite like hanging out with Jean-Paul Sartre at Les Deux Magots back in the day (no, he’s not actually that old), but he did see more than a dozen fans openly smoking on the course in the matter of a few hours. Perhaps Hull noticed them too.

Obviously, there’s an uncomfortable element of hypocrisy to all of this. Sure, Olympic athletes are expected to be role models and are held to extremely high standards, especially when it comes to the substances they put in their bodies. And yes, it is much easier to police 60 players than thousands of fans.

But if Olympic organisers prohibit golfers from smoking while allowing fans to puff away on the tee box, that’s going to raise a few eyebrows and potentially impact players’ performances as well. We doubt Hull will lose much sleep over it—she has bigger things to worry about on Friday—but to us this feels like a cut-and-dry case of “rules for thee, not for me.” Does anyone know how to say that in French?

Main Image: Sarah Stier

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When India’s Diksha Dagar three-putted the 18th green to drop out of a tie for third after the first round of the women’s golf competition in the Olympics, you could be impressed at how she handled her post-round session with the media. Ranked 165th in the world and plying her trade in any events she can get in, whether it be on the Ladies European Tour or the Epson Tour, Dagar matter-of-factly shouldered the blame for the final mis-read and resolutely committing to getting back to work for the second round in the biggest tournament of her young life.

But you’d be missing the point. Because not only was the 23-year-old playing on her biggest stage, but doing it for the first time without her dad on her bag. Not only is Dagar recovering from an auto accident that put her mother in the hospital last week during the Games. She also happens to be deaf. There is nothing not to be impressed about from this woman.

Dagar made three birdies while ranking 11th in strokes gained/off the tee and fifth in strokes gained/putting for the first round at Le Golf National, posting a one-under 71 to be just one of 12 players to break par on Wednesday. While her best finish this year has been top-sixs in the JoBurg Ladies Open (T-3) and the Ladies Italian Open on the LET (T-6), she now finds herself in T-7 after the first round, just one stroke away from bronze medal contention.

Deaf since birth, Dagar has hearing aids and reads lips, not missing a beat in answering questions. She previously has won two medals in the Deaflympics, including a gold in 2021, and became the youngest Indian player to win an LET event in 2019 (Investec South African Women’s Open) at the age of 18. This is her second start in the Olympics after finishing 50th in 2021 in Tokyo.

Dagar’s bio would be impressive enough had she not also had to deal with a bizarre accident eight days ago. She and her family had arrived early at the Olympics to begin practicing. After having a dinner with some of the Indian Olympic team, the family’s car was blindsided in traffic. The accident sent her mother to the hospital with a spinal injury, but she is now recovering at the house where they are staying this week. Her father, normally her caddie, is tending to her mother’s recovery.

“She is doing better,” Diksha said of her mother, a smile on her face that reflected as much tension as relief. “It’s OK. You can’t avoid the accident. It happened. It was nobody’s fault. I don’t know how I didn’t end up hurt, but I guess you can say it was part of my Olympic experience. It was terrible, but by God’s grace we are safe. I’m very lucky and blessed to play the Olympics a second time.”

Dagar, a left-hander, was within a shot of the lead late in her back nine before closing bogeys on 17 and 18. Like a veteran, she blamed herself, not her first-time caddie.

“On 18, I went too aggressive with the birdie putt,” she said. Sometimes it’s in your favor, and some days it is not.

“In my second Olympics, the mindset and the process is the same thing. Everything is the same, but the golf course is different. So you have to adjust according to the golf course. Some of the holes are playing very long, but it’s all right. I will manage it.”

Diksha Dagar was one of 12 golfers to break par on Day 1 of the Olympic women’s golf competition – Kevin C. Cox

Even though she has played in only three major championships in her career and less than two years ago she was ranked in the 400s, there’s no sense that Dagar seems out of her element.

“It feels nice,” she said of her experience walking the demanding Le Golf National, where the field stroke average was 74.14 and there were 254 bogeys or double bogeys or worse. Dagar’s only bogeys came on the final two holes. “I was happy, excited and a bit nervous at the same time because the Olympics is a very unique and big event, and especially because you are playing for your country,” she said. “It all can be a distraction, but this is my goal; this is my game.”

After being introduced to the game at age 6 by her father, Narinder, a colonel in the Indian army, she has been playing elite golf for more than half her life.

“When I was playing tournaments, I had no idea what I was doing, but when the people come to me and they are deaf like me, they ask, I follow you, and it’s very inspiring to see you. It feels so good, amazing. It makes me realise I’m walking on the right path, and I want to do something better and inspire them more.”

Main Image: Andrew Redington

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But she has never had a day like this.

Serenaded like the greatest of French heroes with La Marseilles to start her round, Boutier unflappably moved her way around Le Golf National’s Albatros course with a smooth seven-under 65 to take a three-stroke lead in the first round of the Olympics. Only when it was over did she appear a little breathless. South Africa’s Ashley Buhai shot 68 to stand second, two ahead of a pack of four golfers at two-under 70 that includes Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux, Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe, and the U.S.’s Lilia Vu. American Nelly Korda, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, rallied after bogeying three of her first seven holes to finish at even par, missing a five-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole.

The steady Boutier made a beaucoup of putts and scrambled like a Cyril Lignac omelette, ranking tops in up-and-downs for the first round. It was an epic first day in front of a home crowd like she had never seen before.

“I’m really over the moon with the way the tournament started for me,” said Boutier, who is on her way to becoming the most famous French Celine at these games, including Dion. “I definitely wasn’t sure what to expect today, but I was able to take advantage of a few opportunities out there.”

Boutier was steely-eyed from the start, finding the fairway with her opening tee shot with thousands surrounding the first tee box, French flags draped around spectators, emblazoned on tee shirts, festooned on hats and face paint.

Fans showed out for @celineboutier's first tee #Paris2024 | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/iWkyV4c2Bv

— International Golf Federation (@IGFGolf) August 7, 2024

“It’s definitely not something I’m really used to from what I usually experience on the LPGA,” she said. “But it was nice. Definitely a little bit much for me sometimes. But it’s just nice to have that many people excited about golf and about where my round is going.”

Oh, it was going. She made eight birdies, including a chip-in on the par-3 16th, and her only bogey came on the 12th hole, one of the 14 holes that played over par for the day. Of course, Boutier birdied five of those. Her 65 was nine strokes better than the field average, and she was second in stroke gained/around the green, first in strokes gained/putting, scrambling, putts per green in regulation and feet of putts made with 123.

“I tried to be a little bit more aggressive with my speed, and it definitely worked out,” she said. “I noticed a lot of my putts were online, just sometimes a bit short, sometimes a bit too fast. But when the speed was there, it was going in. It definitely helped me out because I don’t think I hit it that close, but I was able to be within range to make a birdie chance, a birdie run. So I feel like I definitely took advantage of that.”

The challenge of a moment like this, of course, is to keep it under control. Boutier need only look men’s competition a week ago to see the two sides of that coin of adoration. Matthieu Pavon, the darling of Day 1 last week, ended up last of those who finished with three over-par rounds after his even-par start. Meanwhile, Victor Perez rallied with a final-round 63 to finish just one-stroke shy of the bronze.

“I definitely think that coming last weekend, being able to watch some of the men’s round and their tee shots and stuff first definitely helped me out,” Boutier said. “I was able to see the support and the crowd that they got, and I was able to help prepare myself for today.”

Boutier’s three-stroke lead may seem like a lot, but with Le Golf National playing much harder in more difficult, firmer and windier conditions for the women, it’s clear leads this week will be as easy to hold as two handfuls of escargot in a bouillabaisse sauce. Le Golf National will be as much a physical battle as an emotional one. Even with a par of 72, the course already is playing 4.3 strokes harder than it did for the men. Only 12 players finished under par after the first round, while in the men’s first round there were 38 sub-par scores.

“This is a little more difficult than what we’re used to, the setup,” said Lilia Vu after her opening round 70 which included a bogey on 18 after her tee shot found the water. She stands in a five-way tie for third, or the bronze medal. “The greens are firm, and there’s a lot of island greens, and you have to place the right shots in the fairway to hit to different types of greens.

“You can’t really come out here and go on autopilot. You have to think about every single shot, where you want to end up and where’s the wind, is a little into from the right or is it off the left helping. Like all those things matter. So you have to navigate the course the best way you can.”

For the day, there were 254 scores of bogey or higher. On top of that, the mercurial 18th hole, which has been set up as a par-5 for the women after playing as a traditional par 4 last week for the men, saw scores ranging from 3 to 8, the latter coming from Boutier’s countrywoman Perrine Delacour, who put two balls in the water after finding the fairway. With as much carnage as there was relief, anyone thinking about the medal stand needs both hands on the steering wheel as they make their way through the treacherous final four holes.

What seems clear from the early going is that those who drove the ball better, much like in the men’s event, could get around the course the cleanest. Among the top 12 on the leaderboard, only two players hit less than 64 percent of the fairways and none hit less than half. Boutier, who hit nine fairways and 13 greens, seemed unfazed, like someone who has seen Les Miserables enough times to know who dies in the end.

“I think there’s maybe an advantage because you know what kind of course you’re expected to play and what kind of shots,” she said. “Like there’s a lot of rough, stuff like that. But I also think it’s a very straightforward course, and after you play it once or twice, you can get the gist of it as well.

“I wouldn’t say that big of an advantage, though. You still have to go out and hit the shots. Like the fact that you played it before doesn’t necessarily make you play better.”

Just another day like she’s never had before.

Main Image: Kevin C. Cox

The post Olympics 2024: It was a dream opening round for France’s Celine Boutier. Now the work begins appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

New week. New goals. @NellyKorda | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/aykTAJQygo

— International Golf Federation (@IGFGolf) August 5, 2024

RELATED: The surprising rule that may affect Charley Hull at the Paris Olympics

Just the like the male golf competitors at this summer’s Paris Games, the women were asked to fill out personal introductions before their opening rounds on Wednesday. Also like many of the men, the world’s best female golfers said their goal was to win a medal for their nation. Korda obviously hopes to do the same, but not before sampling France’s most viral pastry:

The Crookie.

“Crookies,” a traditional French croissant mixed with a cookie dough, in the pastry shop of Parisian chef Stephane Louvard – THOMAS SAMSON

Half cookie, half croissant, the hybrid desert was conceived by baker Stephane Louvard earlier this year. It soon took off on TikTok, captivating the world with its flaky, chocolate chip goodness. Crookies are now popping up in bakeries from New York City to San Francisco, but as daring dessert aficionado will tell you, if you want the true experience, you have to go to the source.

Korda has the opportunity to do just that this week, and also hopes to “play some good golf” while she’s at it.

Just like Scottie Scheffler, whose Olympic goal was to “have fun,” U.S. golf fans will hope that Korda’s laid-back attitude (and relatable sweet tooth) will help propel her to the top of the podium come Saturday.

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In years past, on-course smoking has largely been the domain of good ol’ boys like John Daly and random Euros like Daniel Brown, but in recent months LPGA star Charley Hull has become the poster girl for dart destruction. The World No. 11 has gone viral for lighting up on the course time and time again, turning her vice into a veritable fashion statement. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on your personal opinions on smoking), Hull won’t be rocking her signature smokes at Le Golf National this week due to an Olympic rule that she says could very well impact her performance.

[What follows is an excerpt from Hull’s press conference at Le Golf National on 8/6/2024]

Q: What’s it like over the last couple of months to be as famous now for smoking on the course as your great play? Are you comfortable with that?

CHARLEY HULL: I don’t actually go on Instagram. I haven’t gone on Instagram in about four or five months. I don’t go on social media or anything. I just let my agent do it. I just concentrate on my golf and just hang out with Georgia off the golf course.

Q: Do you smoke on the course?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I do smoke on the course. It’s a habit but I won’t do this week. Yeah, just something I do.

Q: Why don’t you do it this week?

CHARLEY HULL: I don’t think you’re allowed.

Q: Is that right?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah.

Q: Will that affect you? Does it help you?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I think it will. Because it relaxes me a little bit. But it is what it is.

Q: I thought the French would allow you to smoke?

CHARLEY HULL: Hopefully, yeah.

Sarah Stier

According to the official 2024 Olympics Spectator Information, smoking is prohibited at Olympic venues at the Paris Games except for in select smoking areas. France recently implemented a nationwide crackdown on public smoking, prohibiting tobacco use in parks, beaches and other public areas while also banning disposable e-cigarettes and announcing a price hike to €13 a pack in 2027. The country’s goal is to create a generation “free of tobacco” by 2032.

Though our reporters at Le Golf National have said the policies do not appear to be strictly enforced, they may still impact Hull, who uses tobacco and nicotine to “stay relaxed” on the course. This summer she told National Club Golfer that her 75-year-old father has smoked 40 cigarettes since the age of 12. “My whole family smokes,” she said, “so it’s not something I’ve noticed as being odd.”

We’ll see what impact, if any, the 2024 Olympic’s smoking policy has on Hull’s performance when the women’s golf competition begins on Wednesday, but fans hoping for another viral smoking moment may have to stub out their expectations.

Main Image: David Cannon

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And it’s one that should only continue as the top women’s players in the world take the stage. Thirteen of the top 15 players in the Rolex Women’s World Ranking are in the 60-player field, including World No. 1 and defending gold medalist Nelly Korda of the United States. Meanwhile, French fans who tried to help push Victor Perez to a medal on Sunday have a favourite to root for on the women’s side in Celine Boutier.

The International Golf Federation released the tee times for the first and second rounds, which will be played Wednesday and Thursday with the 72-hole event concluding on Saturday. Players will compete in groups of three with everybody teeing off the first hole.

FIRST ROUND/WEDNESDAY (all times GST)

11:00 a.m. — Perrine Delacour (France), Stephanie Meadow (Ireland), Manon de Roey (Belgium)

11:11 a.m. — Pei-yun Chien (Chinese Taipei), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Denmark), Anne van Dam (Netherlands)

11:22 a.m. — Aditi Ashok (India), Gaby Lopez (Mexico), Esther Henseleit (Germany)

11:33 a.m. — Shannon Tan (Singapore), Maria Fassi (Mexico), Celine Borge (Norway)

11:44 a.m. — Hannah Green (Australia), Charley Hull (Great Britain), Rose Zhang (USA)

11:55 a.m. — Nelly Korda (USA), Jin Young Ko (South Korea), Ruoning Yin (China)

12:11 p.m. — Hyo Joo Kim (South Korea), Brooke Henderson (Canada), Xiyu Janet Lin (China)

12:22 p.m. — Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand), Linn Grant (Sweden), Carlota Ciganda (Spain)

12:33 p.m. — Alessandra Fanali (Italy), Ashley Lau (Malaysia), Ursula Wikstrom (Finland)

12:44 p.m. — Dottie Ardina (Philippines), Noora Komulainen (Finland), Madelene Stavnar (Norway)

12:55 p.m. — Wei-Ling Hsu (Chinese Taipei), Diksha Dagar (India), Emma Spitz (Austria)

1:06 p.m. — Azahara Munoz (Spain), Bianca Pagdanganan (Philippines), Morgane Metraux (Switzerland)

1:17 p.m. — Alexandra Forsterling (Germany), Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland), Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark)

1:33 p.m. — Klara Davidson Spilkova (Czech Republic), Paula Reto (South Africa), Mariajo Uribe (Colombia)

1:44 p.m. — Yuka Saso (Japan), Minjee Lee (Australia), Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand)

1:55 p.m. — Celine Boutier (France), Lilia Vu (USA), Amy Yang (South South Korea)

2:06 p.m. — Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Miyu Yamashita (Japan), Maja Stark (Sweden)

2:17 p.m. — Leona Maguire (Ireland), Georgia Hall (Great Britain), Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa)

2:28 p.m. — Ana Belac (Slovenia), Sara Kouskova (Czech Republic), Alena Sharp (Canada)

2:39 p.m. — Ines Laklalech (Morocco), Sarah Schober (Austria), Pia Babnik (Slovenia)

SECOND ROUND/THURSDAY (all times GST)

11 a.m. — Wei-Ling Hsu (Chinese Taipei), Diksha Dagar (India), Emma Spitz (Austria)

11:11 a.m. — Azahara Munoz (Spain), Bianca Pagdanganan (Philippines), Morgane Metraux (Switzerland)

11:22 a.m. — Alexandra Forsterling (Germany), Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland), Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark)

11:33 a.m. — Klara Davidson Spilkova (Czech Republic), Paula Reto (South Africa), Mariajo Uribe (Colombia)

11:44 a.m. — Yuka Saso (Japan), Minjee Lee (Australia), Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand)

11:55 a.m. — Celine Boutier (France), Lilia Vu (USA), Amy Yang (South Korea)

12:11 p.m. — Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Miyu Yamashita (Japan), Maja Stark (Sweden)

12:22 p.m. — Leona Maguire (Ireland), Georgia Hall (Great Britain), Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa)

12:33 p.m. — Ana Belac (Slovenia), Sara Kouskova (Czech Republic), Alena Sharp (Canada)

12:44 p.m. — Ines Laklalech (Morocco), Sarah Schober (Austria), Pia Babnik (Slovenia)

12:55 p.m. — Perrine Delacour (France), Stephanie Meadow (Ireland), Manon de Roey (Belgium)

12:06 p.m. — Pei-yun Chien (Chinese Taipei), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Denmark), Anne van Dam (Netherlands)

1:17 p.m. — Aditi Ashok (India), Gaby Lopez (Mexico), Esther Henseleit (Germany)

1:33 p.m. — Shannon Tan (Singapore), Maria Fassi (Mexico), Celine Borge (Norway)

1:44 p.m. — Hannah Green (Australia), Charley Hull (Great Britain), Rose Zhang (USA)

1:55 p.m. — Nelly Korda (USA), Jin Young Ko (South Korea), Ruoning Yin (China)

2:06 p.m. — Hyo Joo Kim (South Korea), Brooke Henderson (Canada), Xiyu Janet Lin (China)

2:17 p.m. — Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand), Linn Grant (Sweden), Carlota Ciganda (Spain)

2:28 p.m. — Alessandra Fanali (Italy), Ashley Lau (Malaysia), Ursula Wikstrom (Finland)

2:39 p.m. — Dottie Ardina (Philippines), Noora Komulainen (Finland), Madelene Stavnar (Norway)

Main Image: Icon Sportswire

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You’d think Nelly Korda would be riding into Le Golf National as a virtual lock. But golf, like very nearly all of sports, is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately enterprise. And Korda knows her lately hasn’t been her best. The Olympics could be the return to the form the top player in the women’s game has been looking for, and two weeks of hard work has her pointing to a second gold medal.

“Hopefully, [I’m] trending in the right direction,” Korda said of her pre-tournament preparations ahead of the 72-hole event that begins Wednesday at Le Golf National. Korda is coming into the Olympics on a bit of a stall, having missed three of her last four cuts including at both the U.S. Women’s Open in May and the KPMG Women’s PGA in June. She won six times in the first five months of the year, most recently at the Mizuho Americas Open almost three months ago. While she won the Chevron Championship in April, in addition to missing cuts at two other majors, she is coming off a T-26 at the LPGA’s fourth major, the Amundi Evian Championship three weeks ago.

“I took some time off after Evian and kind of put my clubs to the side for a week, and then grinded for two weeks,” she said of her Olympics lead-in. That includes bringing instructor Jamie Mulligan with her this week to Paris. “He’s always really nice to be around and keeps it super light.”

Packing for Paris! @tumitravel @USAGolf pic.twitter.com/co9uv2UmEw

— Nelly Korda (@NellyKorda) August 2, 2024

Korda likes to keep her distractions to a minimum, but she’s enjoyed the time at the Olympics as a spectator, including watching swimmer Katie Ledecky win the 800-meter freestyle, her second gold at these games and her ninth overall.

“That was really exciting,” she said. “That’s something that I watched as a kid so getting to do that in person was definitely a bucket-list thing. … Obviously we have five majors a year, and they train four years for one shot. And that’s what makes track and field, swimming, gymnastics, all those sports so amazing because they train four years to live out their dream, and we have five times a year to live out our dream. It’s absolutely incredible, and it makes me appreciate what they do that much more.”

That perspective applies to her own game and her current trendline, Korda said. “The game of golf of is a funny game,” she said. “Sometimes you feel on top of the world and in a matter of a couple seconds, you just feel like you’re on the bottom of the sea. So it definitely makes you appreciate the good golf that you play, but yeah, I mean, you have to have a mix of everything in there and everything can’t always go well.

“I would say I’m very grateful for the ups as much as I am for the downs. I think that’s helped me mature and made me realise how grateful I am to do this for a living. You can either shatter, or you can rise and grow from the opportunities and ride the roller coaster that life throws at you.”

Nelly Korda knows what it takes to grab gold after her victory at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 – Mike Ehrmann

If you close your eyes, there’s a similar, measured tone in Korda’s words to another No. 1 in the world who came into these games having failed in his previous three major appearances. Scottie Scheffler turned the Olympics into his seventh win of the year and reasserted his position as the game’s best player. Korda would like to do the same, but just like Scheffler she isn’t sweating it. She knows her Olympic victory in Tokyo was a monumental achievement in her career and an emotional moment, and she even pointed out that her heart-rate readout was the highest not when she holed the winning putt, but when she was on the medal stand.

“When it comes to majors and an Olympic medal, that’s the reason why we are out there so long and grinding and pushing ourselves in the gym and on the golf course is for those moments,” she said.

“I have gone through many, many situations where I played really bad and then all of a sudden, if I just continue working hard, and doing what I need to do, the results show after,” she said. “If I’m making little improvements here and there, and I’m happy with the way my game is trending, at the end of the day, I know that I have what it takes to compete and to contend.”

Main Image: Kevin C. Cox

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