For three days, Morgane Métraux was right at the top of the Olympic golf tournament. But her final round was a complete failure.
10.08.2024, 19:47
10.08.2024, 19:54
SDA
The Vaud native lost out on the medal and the diploma and even fell behind Albane Valenzuela.
There had been no sign of the collapse. On Friday, Métraux, the 27-year-old from Cully VD between Lausanne and Montreux, coped well with the pressure. On Saturday, however, everything was different: the very first shot landed in the water. The result was a first bogey (1 over par). The next one followed immediately on the second hole. And on the fifth hole, Morgane Métraux had to record a triple bogey. The gap to the new Olympic champion Lydia Ko from New Zealand was already seven strokes after the fifth hole.
"It wasn't a very good day for me," said Morgane Métraux in the clubhouse after the frustrating round. "I didn't play as well as on the previous days. The putts didn't go in. The mistakes then piled up."
It will take a while
The Vaud native found it difficult to look for positives after falling from 1st to 18th place. "It's not nice to end a tournament in this way. It will take a while to forget it. But hopefully I'll be able to learn from this day. I hope the next time I find myself in a situation like this, it comes out differently."
Métraux is still not sure why everything went wrong on Saturday. Was the pressure too much? "I don't think so," says Métraux. "Of course I wanted to win a medal for my country. The opportunity presented itself. You're asking about the pressure? It was exactly the same on Friday. I felt exactly the same as the days before. Only my game was worse." She wouldn't have changed the way she played either: "I played all four days with the same strategy. But on the final day I only managed two holes to my liking."
A topsy-turvy world
With a little distance, Morgane Métraux can look back on her tournament with pride. For three days, she put Switzerland on the international golf map. Yet it was only in the spring that she secured her second starting place by winning the tournament in Evian (FRA). Despite a completely unsuccessful final round, the Vaud native finished the tournament ahead of Nelly Korda, the world number 1.
But Métraux did not finish the Olympic tournament ahead of Albane Valenzuela, the second Swiss player. Valenzuela was considered the secret favorite before the tournament. She had secured her starting place for Paris long before Métraux. But Valenzuela played below her potential for three days. And while everything went wrong for Métraux on Saturday, Valenzuela put a dream round on the green. 7 strokes under par - the best round of golf of the entire week! Valenzuela moved up another 19 positions in the rankings to 13th place. "Not much went right for three days," said Valenzuela, "but suddenly my game is there. That's how it is in golf! The final round shows me that I can match the level of the best on good days - that I can even compete for victory at major tournaments if everything is right. I'll take this motivation with me to the next tournaments."
