Rio Gold Winner Park Relaxed As Top 10 Lead Olympic Golf Showdown

The three Rio medallists, Park In-bee, Lydia Ko and Feng Shanshan will tee off together in a signature group when the Olympic women's golf tournament begins at Kasumigaseki Country Club on Wednesday

Kawagoe, Japan, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Aug, 2021 ) :The three Rio medallists, Park In-bee, Lydia Ko and Feng Shanshan will tee off together in a signature group when the Olympic women's golf tournament begins at Kasumigaseki Country Club on Wednesday.

Unlike the men's event, where none of the Rio medallists qualified, the entire 2016 women's podium are back for another crack at Games glory.

World number one and recent Women's PGA Championship winner, Nelly Korda, second-ranked Ko Jin-young of South Korea and Japan's top player Nasa Hataoka form another eye-catching three-ball for the first two rounds.

An elite field of 60 players containing all of the world's top 10 will battle over the same course that saw pulsating drama in the men's final round on Sunday, culminating in an astonishing seven-way playoff for bronze.

The 33-year-old Park struck gold for South Korea in Rio 2016 when golf returned after a 112-year absence and she recalled how she almost buckled under the intense pressure of representing her golf-crazy nation while battling a thumb injury.

"I mean, 2016 was far most pressure-filled I've ever felt in my life. I don't know if I could do that again," she said, determined to be more relaxed as she goes for a second gold.

"If I felt it again this year, I don't think I would be able to play," said the seven-time major winner.

Heat and sunshine have replaced the incessant rain and thunder of last week over the weekend, meaning different conditions for the women when they tee off for 72 holes of strokeplay.

"I went out there yesterday and the course was actually a lot firmer than I thought and a lot longer," said Park.