2024 Olympics: Team USA collapses in the women’s golf event

Team USA did not end up on the podium for the women’s golf competition at the 2024 Olympics.

Rose Zhang, Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu made a valiant effort but fell short.

Lydia Ko posted a 1-under 71 to get to 10-under overall and win by two strokes over the silver medalist from Team Germany, Esther Henseleit and bronze medalist from Team China’s Xiyu Lin.

Zhang came the closest of the three. She finished T8 at 5-under overall after she posted a final round 2-over 74 score.

“Nothing was going my way,” Zhang said. “I was probably an inch or two off flipping out and not having the greatest lies from the rough. You can’t expect too much out of the rough. I was just that half-inch or a foot away from being in good territory. It was unfortunate. I made some pretty big mistakes. So I can’t say too much about that.”

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The 21-year-old went out in 40 after making bogeys at 4 and 7 and a double bogey at the par-5 9th. Even though she was in a deep hole, she never gave up the mindset of doing something great.

“You can’t lose faith,” Zhang said. “I think you always have to have some sort of strength in you to push forward and finish. I felt like I tried my best on the back nine, made some birdies and gave myself opportunities. At the end of the day, it was slightly off and can’t really do much there.”

On the back nine, she made three birdies and one bogey to come home in 34 shots. Zhang was close, but she did not have her best stuff on the day it mattered the most.

Korda’s gold medal defense collapsed on the back nine for the No. 1 golfer in the world. She finished T22 after a 3-over 75, which put her at 1-under overall. Korda was 2-under in her first three holes but was back at even par by the 8th as she made a bogey at 5 and 7. She capped off the front nine with a birdie on 9 to give her a little momentum.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Things started to derail at 13 when she made a bogey. Korda birdied 14, but a double at 15 and a bogey at 17 completely took the wind out of her sails.

“I was aggressive when I could be, and I played safe when I had to,” Korda said. “I played pretty solid until the last couple holes. Again, I feel like that was the story of my week. Other than that, I played some solid golf.”

Vu put herself into contention early on in the tournament but could not keep it going. She shot a 2-under 70 on Wednesday, but from there saw a 73-76-74 in the final 54 holes.

The No. 2 ranked golfer signed for a 2-over 74 on Saturday to finish at 5-over in the tournament and T36.

Team USA might not have medaled in women’s golf, but they still represented their country in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Olympics are unique because only the top three take home something, whereas in professional tournaments, the players who make the cut will win some money.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.