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Ko claims bronze after thrilling final round, playoff in Tokyo

August 7, 2021

Lydia Ko has fought through mid-round bogeys, a play delay due to lightning risks and a medal playoff to claim bronze at the Olympics in a thrilling final round.

Ko and Japan's Mone Inami went back out to the 18 th hole to break their deadlock at 16-under par, having finished one stroke behind gold medallist Nelly Korda of the USA but one ahead of World No.200 Aditi Ashok of India.

Inami found the fairway with her tee shot but the same couldn’t be said for Ko, with her drive ended up in a bunker halfway down the course.

While Ko recovered brilliantly to give herself a chance for par with a decent putt, she was put under pressure by Inami who had already managed to do so in four strokes with ease.

Ko couldn’t get it done though, missing the hole and taking bronze to compliment her silver from Rio.

Earlier, Ko had been going back-and-forth in the medal positions with Ashok and Korda throughout the final round, while Inami stormed into the conversation in the final back nine.

The Kiwi golfer, entering the final round in third, put pressure on Korda after starting the day with four straight birdies from the second to fifth holes before making another birdie on the eighth.

Korda meanwhile started the day quietly with a birdie on the second before things got chaotic when her chip to reach the green on the seventh came up short and rolled all the way back to her. 

As a result, the American double-bogeyed the hole, allowing Ko and company to close in on the top spot.

The drama wasn't finished though, with Ko starting the back nine in rough fashion after two poor tee shots saw her miss the fairway twice, resulting in back-to-back bogeys.

Ashok and Korda also bogeyed the 11th, allowing Inami to power into the top three as she followed up her par on the 11th with four-straight birdies of her own from 12 to 15.

Ko also managed to string together another streak of birdies, however her run from the 13th to the 15th came undone with a bogey on the 16th, dropping her back to the bronze medal position.

At that point, play was suspended due to lightning risk at Kasumigaseki Country Club with Korda in the lead, Inami one stroke back and Ashok and Ko locked into a tie for third a further stroke behind.

Play got back underway 30 minutes later and the Kiwi came out firing, sinking a birdie on the par-four 17 th to put pressure on the Ashok.

Unfortunately for Ashok, she could only manage to par the hole and fell back into fourth place which is where she stayed.

The drama wasn't finished though.

Inami also managed to birdie the 17 th to push her way into a tie for first with Korda with just the final hole to go but disaster struck when she found the bunker with her second shot.

Despite her best efforts, she went on to bogey the hole, handing the championship to Korda and falling back into a tie with Ko.

The Kiwi managed to make her way to the green in two strokes before sealing a playoff with two putts to par the hole leading to their playoff.

Ko's medal makes it 20 for New Zeland in Tokyo so far - a record haul that surpasses the former record of 18 from Rio five years ago.

WATCH THE OLYMPICS: TVNZ 1 and TVNZ OnDemand feature 12 hours of free-to-air action focussed on Kiwi athletes each afternoon and evening, while Sky TV has Olympics coverage across 12 channels and streaming platforms.

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