Le Golf National will be an important stage for the women’s golf tournament in the 2024 Olympics. The transalpine course is located in Saint-Quentin-en Yvelines, just over 30 km south-west of Paris and practically adjacent to the velodrome which will host track cycling.
A course that six years ago hosted the Ryder Cup, the most important event in the golf scene.
Nelly Korda, statements
The girls will take to the field after their male colleagues, with the first round scheduled for Wednesday 7 August, while the fourth which will award the medals will take place on Saturday 10 August.
There will be 60 players at the start, there will not be the classic cut after two rounds but all participants will play the 72 holes of the week, in Signature Event mode which the PGA Tour introduced this year. It will be just the fourth women’s Olympic golf tournament , after those of 1900 (won by Margaret Abbott), 2016 (conquered by the South Korean Inbee Park) and 2021 (successes by Nelly Korda).
And just like in Tokyo three years ago, also in the French capital the American champion arrives at number 1 in the ranking. For Korda, a season that began in the wake of what Scottie Scheffler did in the men’s game, dominating far and wide, only to then have to stop due to a domestic accident, and run into some counter-performances.
The American, the reigning Olympic gold medalist, is however the first favorite to hold on to the gold medal, even if there is certainly no shortage of fierce competition. Japanese Mone Inami, silver medalist at home three years ago, but left out of the Japanese selection, will not be on the field in Paris.
Representing the country of the Rising Sun will be Yuka Saso and Miyu Yamashita, respectively n.10 and n.19 in the world rankings. Lydia Ko will be on the tee of one instead, bronze three years ago but a moment downhill in 2024.
The one who will show up with a great chance of a medal will be Korea, with Jin Young Ko number 3 in the ranking and in great shape. Remaining in Asia, pay attention to the Chinese Rouning Yin, in the top-5 of the world rankings and always in contention when the stakes are important.
Returning to the US, the podium athletes are certainly Rose Zhang and Lilia Vu, with the latter recently returning to the field and the author of a series of devastating results. And the Old Continent? Europe relies mainly on the transalpine Celine Boutier, winner of a major tournament in 2023 and absolute idol of the home fans.
The public’s push could certainly help the French team, which however must try to turn around after a less than exciting 2024. Another name to take into consideration is that of the British Charley Hull, as well as the Swedes Linn Grant and Maja Stark.
Hopes for the Italian Alessandra Fanali? They are reduced to a bare minimum, with the distance from the best that objectively appears almost unbridgeable.