| Dates: 23 July-8 August Time in Tokyo: BST +8 |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sounds; live text and video clips on BBC Sport website and app. |
American Nelly Korda shot a superb nine-under 62 to take a four-stroke lead at the halfway mark in the women’s Olympic golf in Tokyo.
The world number one made nine birdies and an eagle but missed the chance of a historic 59 with a double bogey on the 18th hole, to sit at 13 under overall.
Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Emily Kristine Pedersen are tied for second with India’s Aditi Ashok.
Britain’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff is level par, while Mel Reid is six over.
Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom is five shots off the lead on eight under, while South Korea’s Inbee Park, who won the gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is 10 strokes adrift of Korda.
Had Korda, the reigning women’s PGA champion, birdied the 18th hole and not dropped two shots she could have equalled Annika Sorenstam’s (2001) single-round score of 59 on the LPGA Tour.
Sorenstam remains the only female golfer to break the magical 60 mark in competition golf.
Korda maintained her focused demeanour throughout what looked like being a historic round, and insisted that she has not put any extra pressure on herself to claim Olympic gold.
“I think when people ask me if I prepare more or put more meaning than normal (into) majors or Olympics or whatever, I say, ‘no’, because I go into any type of an event with the same demeanour and the same goal,” Korda said.
The tournament is still expected to take place over four days, however organisers have put contingency plans in place with a tropical storm expected to hit the Kasumigaseki Country Club at the weekend.
Round three on Friday and round four on Saturday will both start early and begin on split tees, with groups playing from holes one and 10, to avoid the extreme heat and to try finish the event before the expected storm hits.
If the weather means they cannot play on Saturday, the final round could also be played on Sunday, with the event being declared a 54-hole tournament with the third round leader claiming gold if no play is possible at the weekend.
The heat has already caused problems in the golf event, caused problems with American Lexi Thompson’s caddie pulling out with heatstroke on Wednesday.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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