OLYMPIC HONEYMOON ONLY BEGINNING FOR LEWIS

Golf News

18 August 2016, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
Stacy Lewis fired a scorching course record 63 in the second round of
the women’s golf competition to stand on the brink of Olympic glory at
the end of a whirwind two weeks in which she got married and became an
Olympic athlete.

The much-decorated American takes
everything in her stride, even preparing for a visit to the Olympic
diving event soon after compiling the eight-under-par round which
propelled her into the medal positions on 133, nine under par, just one
off the pace set by Inbee Park of Korea.

However, watching the talented divers may
act as a springboard to success on Saturday afternoon, when Lewis
attempts to follow in the footsteps of her compatriot, Margaret Abbot,
who won for the United States in Paris way back in 1900.
First, though, the new Mrs. Chadwell
faces the challenge of overhauling Park, who continued her impressive
recovery from a thumb injury by matching her opening 66 for a 36-hole
total of 132.
Lewis carved out 11 birdies during a
brilliant performance on the Olympic course, lowering Park’s course
record from Wednesday by two shots. Even a bogey and a double-bogey at
the 14th failed to halt her inexorable progress up a cosmopolitan
leaderboard.
On the contrary, the 31-year-old
recovered from that bogey blow on the 14th by closing with four straight
birdies to match the 63 shot by Marcus Fraser in the men’s competition
exactly one week earlier.
“I guess I have a course record here,
and it’s great to put my name on that, and being near the top of the
leaderboard at the Olympics,” said Lewis. “It’s something that, I think,
every kid is going to dream of doing.”
She added: “It’s been such a cool week so
far, and the highlight for me was just getting to see the guys up there
on the podium on 18 on Sunday getting their medals and just thinking
about how cool that would be to be in their shoes and be doing that on
Saturday. It’s definitely a motivating factor but I’ve had a great week
and we’re enjoying it so far.”
Park, the seven-time major winner,
admitted that she arrived in Rio more in hope than expectation after a
lengthy lay-off due to the on-going thumb injury. However, the Korean
has plotted a steady course for two days and said: “I was able to
convert the birdies today. I missed a couple of tee shots, so I was in
the sand area, but I was able to convert them into birdies. That’s
really the key for today’s round.”
The leaderboard reflects the global
nature of the competition, with a league of nations contending inside
the top ten of an exciting women’s event. Hard on the heels of Park and
Lewis are Canadian Brooke Henderson and Charley Hull, bidding to follow
the gold medal performance of her fellow Briton, Justin Rose, last
Sunday. Henderson also went low wth a 64 while Hull tagged a 66 onto her
initial 68 for an eight-under-par total of 134.
Right behind the leaders are three
players on seven under par, Marianne Skarpnord of Norway, Denmark’s
Nicole Broch Larsen and Candie Kung of Chinese Taipei while the youngest
player in the field, 18-year-old Aditi Ashok carries the hopes of India
at six-under-par.
Quotes of the Day – Round 2
Inbee Park 132 (66, 66): “I
think first coming here, I didn’t really know whether I was going to
play this week or not due to the injury. Obviously didn’t expect much
of a result. It was more of whether I can play or not. A good result
is a great gift.”
Stacey Lewis 133 (70, 63): “I
was excited from the get?go with the announcement of the Olympics.
There are probably a lot of reasons why we shouldn’t have come and
shouldn’t have done this, whether it was Zika or other issues. I just
did my homework and nobody gave me a good reason why I shouldn’t come.
You’d have to ? I mean, there’d have to be something seriously wrong
with me to not come play in the Olympics. This has been so cool. Just a
different feel about it.”
Brooke Henderson (134) 70, 64: I feel Britt (sister and caddie)
and I came up with a really good strategy for this course over the last
week or so, along with Team Canada. I think so far, it’s been pretty
good. But like I say, there’s still lots of golf left and hopefully
I’ll just continue to play smart but take advantage when I can.
Charley Hull 134 (68, 66): “I
don’t really look at what I do. I just kind of get off the golf course
and go to the gym. I don’t really analyse where I am. I just kind of
think, oh, yeah, I played decent, another round tomorrow.”
Marianne Skarpnord, 135 (69, 66): “When I first came there (Team Norway house),
I was thinking, God, this is like going to camp or something, border
school or whatever. The food isn’t great. The beds aren’t great. The
apartment isn’t great. But the atmosphere and the experience is better
and a lot more than I would ever think that it would be. I’m loving
it. I think it’s really cool.”
Nicole Broch Larsen 135 (67, 68): “It’s cool (Olympic Village).
It’s nice to be surrounded by athletes. I think we have a good
atmosphere in the Danish, yeah, all the Danish people together.
Everybody is cheering for each other. It’s really cool getting back
there yesterday and a lot of people is like, good luck, and well
played. It’s just nice to get their support, as well.”
Aditi Ashok 136 (68, 68): “I
think golf every day is different. You never hit the same shot twice.
So every day is a new experience, and you can’t really come with any
expectations. The game is bigger than all of us, so that’s what I like
about it. Every day, you have a new experience.”
Gerina Piller 136 (69, 67): “Yeah, that would be pretty cool to have a (USA)
podium sweep. It’s definitely been talked about amongst us. But
again, there’s a lot of golf to be played and you can’t put the cart
before the horse. For me, I just want to focus on playing consistent
golf and hitting good shots and making putts.”
Minjee Lee 136 (69, 67): “I
think when you’re on the golf course, you don’t really think about it.
But when you’re obviously not on the golf course, you’re like, oh, you
just sort of realize how big of an event it is and not just for
yourself, because you’re representing your country and for women’s golf
and all that. So I think it’s pretty cool just to be here. I think
it’s amazing. More amazing as it goes.”
Lydia Ko 139 (69, 70): “I think she (Charley Hull)
realises how big of a deal it is, and especially with Justin Rose
winning the gold medal, I know she would love to putt a contribution to
GB. I think it’s just her personality that she’s just cool, outgoing,
trying to play some great golf, and no matter what tournament that
you’re playing, I think that’s a confidence factor; that either you’re
in perfect positions or not, you’re still going out there focusing on
that shot in front of me and not worrying about everything that’s gone
around you.”
To find a full list of player transcripts from the Olympic Games golf competition, visit:
www.asapsports.com
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