After an exciting back-nine finale in the men’s competition, which saw world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler win the gold for Team USA, it is the women’s turn to shine on the Olympic stage at Le Golf National. The 72-hole stroke play competition, which takes place from Wednesday to Saturday, is competed in by 60 women from 33 different nations. Women’s golf will compete in the Games for just the third time since it was brought back in 2016, just like the men’s division. After competing in the Olympics in 1900 and 1904, golf was discontinued until the Rio Games, a break of 112 years.
Nelly Korda of Team USA, the reigning Tokyo Games gold medallist, will take the field in Paris looking for her sixth victory of the year. Prior to the week, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang, two of her American rivals, are also favorites. At a well-known location, French celebrities Celine Boutier and Perrine Delacour will try to capitalize on home fans. Brooke Henderson of Canada, Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, and Linn Grant of Sweden are also anticipated to compete for medals. Just one week after her younger brother, Min Woo Lee of the PGA Tour, made his debut in the men’s division, Australia’s Minjee Lee will play in her third Olympics. Twelve of the top fifteen players in the Rolex Women’s Golf Rankings are among the field, including all
Schedule
The women’s stroke play competition’s opening round is scheduled to begin on Wednesday at 9 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET). The start times for the second, third, and fourth rounds will remain the same. The final round on Saturday will continue until 12:30 p.m. ET to accommodate the live medal ceremony.
How to watch
TV: Golf Channel in the U.S.; BBC Sport in the UK.
Streaming: Peacock in the U.S.; BBC Sport in the UK.
Who’s on Team USA?
As the top player in the world and a 14-time LPGA champion, Korda guides Team USA. In addition to trying to retain her gold title, 26-year-old Korda will be looking to get back into shape ahead of the AIG Women’s Open, the season’s last major tournament. Korda’s year got off to an exciting start as she won five straight LPGA tournaments, including the Chevron Championship, the first of the LPGA’s five majors. However, Korda’s most recent tournament performances have not been indicative of the American celebrity. She finished T26 at the Evian Championship, which was held in France, and missed the cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open.
Nelly’s swing around 🇫🇷#Paris2024 | #Olympics | @NellyKorda pic.twitter.com/wZrGBRmrif
— Olympic Golf (@OlympicGolf) August 6, 2024
The world’s second-ranked player, Vu, is also a heavy favorite to win the gold. She missed the most of the LPGA season due to a back ailment, which kept her from defending her incredibly successful 2023 season. She took home four victories, including the Women’s Open and Chevron majors. However, Vu raised the trophy after her initial start following her June injury. She defeated Grace Kim and Lexi Thompson in a playoff to win the Meijer LPGA Classic, her sixth career win on the circuit.
Zhang, a 21-year-old Stanford graduate, completes the women’s golf team for Team USA. Before she turned pro and shot to the top of the game, she was regarded as one of the finest female amateur golfers of all time. She took home her first victory on the LPGA and her second victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup a year later. The native of Southern California is ranked ninth globally.
Key storylines
After four lackluster LPGA Tour appearances, including two consecutive majors where she shot 80 or more, Korda will be the focus of attention as she makes her comeback to the competitive scene. Korda will want to build on her earlier season form going into the Open at St. Andrews and continue where she left off. An Olympic gold medal defense would be the ideal approach to store up some optimism ahead of Scotland.
The Olympics will serve as a barometer of how the Americans and Europeans are developing as the team tournament draws near. The Solheim Cup is also approaching. In September, twelve players from the United States and twelve from Europe will travel to Washington, D.C., for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club match play competition of 2024. Zhang, Vu, and Korda will play for the United States. Boutier, the Olympic hopefuls from Great Britain (Charley Hull and Georgia Hall), Sweden (Linn Grant and Maja Stark), Ireland (Leona Maguire), Spain (Carlota Ciganda), and Germany (Esther Henseleit) are all under the qualifying mark for the European Team.
Tee times
• 9:00 a.m./10:55 a.m. — Perrine Delacour (France), Stephanie Meadow (Ireland), Manon de Roey (Belgium)
• 9:11 a.m./11:06 a.m. — Pei-yun Chien (Chinese Taipei), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Denmark), Anne van Dam (Netherlands)
• 9:22 a.m./11:17 a.m. — Aditi Ashok (India), Gaby Lopez (Mexico), Esther Henseleit (Germany)
• 9:33 a.m./11:33 a.m. — Shannon Tan (Singapore), Maria Fassi (Mexico), Celine Borge (Norway)
• 9:44 a.m./11:44 a.m. — Hannah Green (Australia), Charley Hull (Great Britain), Rose Zhang (USA)
• 9:55 a.m./11:55 a.m. — Nelly Korda (USA), Jin Young Ko (South Korea), Ruoning Yin (China)
• 10:11 a.m./12:06 p.m. — Hyo Joo Kim (South Korea), Brooke Henderson (Canada), Xiyu Janet Lin (China)
• 10:22 a.m./12:17 p.m. — Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand), Linn Grant (Sweden), Carlota Ciganda (Spain)
• 10:33 a.m./12:28 p.m. — Alessandra Fanali (Italy), Ashley Lau (Malaysia), Ursula Wikstrom (Finland)
• 10:44 a.m./12:39 p.m. — Dottie Ardina (Philippines), Noora Komulainen (Finland), Madelene Stavnar (Norway)
• 10:55 a.m./9:00 a.m. — Wei-Ling Hsu (Chinese Taipei), Diksha Dagar (India), Emma Spitz (Austria)
• 11:06 a.m./9:11 a.m. — Azahara Munoz (Spain), Bianca Pagdanganan (Philippines), Morgane Metraux (Switzerland)
• 11:17 a.m./9:22 a.m. — Alexandra Forsterling (Germany), Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland), Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark)
• 11:33 a.m./9:33 a.m. — Klara Davidson Spilkova (Czech Republic), Paula Reto (South Africa), Mariajo Uribe (Colombia)
• 11:44 a.m./9:44 a.m. — Yuka Saso (Japan), Minjee Lee (Australia), Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand)
• 11:55 a.m./9:55 a.m. — Celine Boutier (France), Lilia Vu (USA), Amy Yang (South Korea)
• 12:06 p.m./10:11 a.m. — Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Miyu Yamashita (Japan), Maja Stark (Sweden)
• 12:17 p.m./10:22 a.m. — Leona Maguire (Ireland), Georgia Hall (Great Britain), Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa)
• 12:28 p.m./10:33 a.m. — Ana Belac (Slovenia), Sara Kouskova (Czech Republic), Alena Sharp (Canada)
• 12:39 p.m./10:44 a.m. — Ines Laklalech (Morocco), Sarah Schober (Austria), Pia Babnik (Slovenia)
(Photo of Nelly Korda: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
