3 days after the men’s golf event at Rio concluded, 60 of the top ranked women teed off at the Olympic Golf Course in Barra Da Tijuca. As with the men’s, a local golfer got the event underway. Miriam Nagl of Brazil started the action off, however, she struggled and ended with a total of +8 over par 79.
Nicole Larsen of Denmark and Candie Kung of the Chinese Taipei enjoyed early starts and set the pace early, carding identical totals 0f -4 under 67. 40th ranked Carlota Ciganda from Spain surprised many with her performance and also ended with -4 under 67.
At the top, the day belonged to World No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn. The 20-year-old from Thailand was exceptional throughout as she hit 7 birdies and an eagle on her way to a round of -6 under par 65.
Inbee Park, the talented South Korean was exceptional through the course of the day. She ended in 2nd place at -5 under par for the day. Another Korean, Seiyoung Kim carded an identical total as her compatriot and finished tied second with her. They finished one stroke ahead of three golfers who finished at - 4 under par 67.
It wasn’t that great for World No. 1 Lydia Ko from New Zealand in the beginning. She struggled initially, recording a front 9 of 36, +1 over par. She recovered superbly though to put herself right in the mix going into the second round tomorrow.
It was a special performance from India’s Aditi Ashok. The teenager from Bangalore has thrilled the world with her consistent performances from the time she broke onto the stage. She enjoyed a good first round, recording 3 birdies and 15 pars on her way to a -3 under 68.
She surpassed the performances of India’s male representatives in golf and much will be expected of her going into the next three rounds. Currently, she is only 1 shot behind the golfers who would contest for bronze.
