2024 Olympic golf: Switzerland's Morgane Metraux takes lead after two rounds, thanks to Olympic record on front nine

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 8: Morgane Metraux of Team Switzerland competing in the Women's Individual Stroke during Day 13 of Golf - Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Le Golf National on August 8, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Morgane Metraux of Team Switzerland competes during Day 13 of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Le Golf National on Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris. (Photo by Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images) (BSR Agency via Getty Images)

Medal table | Olympic schedule |How to watch | Olympic news

Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux leads the women's golf tournament through two rounds after she recorded a 66 on Friday, which included an Olympic-record 8-under 28 — featuring a pair of eagles — on the front nine at Le Golf National.

Metraux cooled off on the final nine holes with five pars, two bogeys and a birdie to finish at 8-under heading into Friday's third round.

Yin Ruoning of China is right behind Metraux in second place at 7-under after firing the best round of the day with a 65.

France's Céline Boutier, who led after the first round, shot a 76 Thursday and dropped to 3-under and tied for sixth.

American Nelly Korda, the defending gold medalist, was making a charge up the leaderboard Thursday with six birdies through the 15th hole, but had a finish to forget. After hitting the water on her tee shot on the 136-yard 16th, her drop shot found the greenside bunker. She would make a quadruple bogey, then bogey 17 before ending her round with a birdie to get to 2-under and a tie with Rose Zhang.

"Unfortunate that I played 16 holes of such solid golf, felt really good out there and the wind was just off my left," Korda told Golf Channel about the 16th hole. "I didn't hit my nine iron that great. I was between my pitching wedge and nine iron and went with the longer club. ... If this would have happened on the fourth day, I would be really, really heartbroken, but I know I have 36 more holes to make something happen."

The other American in the field, Lilia Vu, also had a tough day, shooting 73 to finish 1-under.

Other notable scores after two rounds: New Zealand's Lydia Ko (-5, 3rd), Slovenia's Pia Babnik (-4, T4), Colombia's Mariajo Uribe (-4, T4), Australia's Minjee Lee (+1, T22) and Canada's Brooke Henderson (+3, T29).

Here are the tee times for Friday's third round of the women's Olympic golf competition at Le Golf National.

All times ET

3 a.m.: Perrine Delacour (France), María Fassi (Mexico), Noora Komulainen (Finland)

3:11 a.m.: Ines Laklalech (Morocco), Ursula Wikström (Finland), Leona Maguire (Ireland)

3:22 a.m.: Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark), Stephanie Meadow (Ireland), Charley Hull (Great Britain)

3:33 a.m.: Yuka Saso (Japan), Carlota Ciganda (Spain), Alessandra Fanali (Italy)

3:44 a.m.: Sára Kousková (Czech Republic), Alexandra Försterling (Germany), Paula Reto (South Africa)

3:55 a.m.: Ashley Lau (Malaysia), Madelene Stavnar (Norway), Klára Davidson Spilková (Czech Republic)

4:11 a.m.: Ana Belac (Slovenia), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Denmark), Anne van Dam (Netherlands)

4:22 a.m.: Sarah Schober (Austria), Shannon Tan (Singapore), Dottie Ardina (Philippines)

4:33 a.m.: Brooke Henderson (Canada) Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand), Georgia Hall (Great Britain)

4:44 a.m.: Manon de Roey (Belgium), Pei-yun Chien (Chinese Taipei), Hannah Green (Australia)

4:55 a.m.: Hyo Joo Kim (Korea), Azahara Muñoz (Spain), Alena Sharp (Canada)

5:06 a.m.: Linn Grant (Sweden), Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland), Jin Young Ko (Korea)

5:17 a.m.: Emma Spitz (Austria), Minjee Lee (Australia), Esther Henseleit (Germany)

5:33 a.m.: Maja Stark (Sweden), Gaby López (Mexico), Celine Borge (Norway)

5:44 a.m.: Lilia Vu (USA), Amy Yang (Korea), Aditi Ashok (India)

5:55 a.m.: Nelly Korda (USA), Wei-Ling Hsu (Chinese Taipei), Diksha Dagar (India)

6:06 a.m.: Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa), Xiyu Lin (China), Rose Zhang (USA)

6:17 a.m.: Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), Céline Boutier (France), Miyu Yamashita (Japan)

6:28 a.m.: Mariajo Uribe (Colombia), Pia Babnik (Slovenia), Bianca Pagdanganan (Philippines)

6:39 a.m.: Morgane Metraux (Switzerland), Ruoning Yin (China), Lydia Ko (New Zealand)

Golf is back for the third straight Olympic Games. After being an event at the 1900 and 1904 Olympics, it did not appear again until Rio 2016.

Like the men, the women's tournaments will feature 72-hole stroke play. There is no cut, so each of the 60 women participating are eligible to play all four rounds.

The women's tournament will finish Saturday. Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. won gold in the men's competition with Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood taking home silver and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan winning bronze.

Advertisement