Olympics: S. Korean Women On Tee To Drive For Golf Gold

Rukhshan Mir (@rukhshanmir) Published August 01, 2016 | 01:38 PM

SEOUL, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st August, 2016) - As golf returns to the Olympics after more than a century, South Korea's women golfers are targeting a medal sweep and the start of a golden dynasty to match their archery compatriots. The decision to bring golf back as an individual event should suit the Korean players who are products of an ultra-competitive domestic tour that continues to churn out world-class players. The qualifying rules for Rio de Janeiro were based on global rankings, with the world's top 15 players on July 11 getting an automatic berth, with a maximum of four of those from any one country.

The rest of the 60-woman field is made up from those next in line on the world rankings list up to a maximum of two players per country.

At the cut-off date, South Korea accounted for half the women's top 10 slots and had four more players in the top 20.

But the restriction to four competitors meant some seriously talented golfers missed out. "It shows how great those players are playing week in, week out," world number one Lydia Ko said in a recent interview with ESPN. "I'm kind of glad I'm not amongst that," said Ko, who is South Korean by birth but represents New Zealand, where she has lived since the age of six.