2016 Olympics – It’s a Different Feeling

With the 1st round of the Women’s Individual Stroke Play on the books, I’m loving what I’ve been seeing – the multilingual introductions on the first tee, Victoria Lovelady’s long, deep breath before her first shot in front of the home town crowd (it ended up in the bunker), Maha Haddoui, whose drive carried with it the hopes and dreams of young Arab girls who have yet to pick up a golf club, with her father on the bag, Lexi Thompson delivering an absolutely pure first shot.

Then play got into full swing.  Stacy Lewis was absolutely on target: This is no ordinary golf tournament!

"It's just completely different feeling. It just feels like the Olympics."– @Stacy_Lewis @USAGolf @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/PjRQIWdw3H

— USA GOLF (@USAGolf) August 17, 2016

Denmark’s Nicole Broche Larsen, one of my sleepers for the Women’s Individual Stroke Play, shot up to the top of the board with 3 birdies in her first four holes.  The emerging Danish star picked up one more shot on the outward nine and made the turn at 4-under par.  Broche Larsen cooled off a bit on the inward nine but managed to keep herself near the leaders. She’s sleeping on a 4-under par 67, 2 shots off the lead.

I’d say Broche Larsen’s first round of Olympic competition was an excellent audition for a spot on the 2017 Solheim Cup European team.  From the announcer’s booth, Annika Sorenstam was discretely silent on that matter – for the moment.

It was no surprise to see Sei Young Kim come charging up the board and finish with a 5-under par 66 but it was a surprise to see Inbee Park right there beside her.  Park’s been out of competition for more than a month, nursing a thumb injury, and I expected to see some rust on her game.  There have even been some mumblings that perhaps she should step aside, relinquish her spot on the Korean team to someone better prepared, specifically best friend and one-time maid of honor, So Yeon Ryu.

If Park actually had any rust on her game she’d clearly knocked it off before she arrived in Rio.  Although her strokes gained putting was a little low (1.219) she signed a blemish-free card and led the field in strokes gained tee-to-green (4.581).  When she’s on her game Inbee Park is hard to beat and if the 1st round is any indication, Inbee Park is on her game and has her eyes on Olympic gold this week.

Among the Big Four, Brooke Henderson dawdled along to a 1-under par 1st round finish, Lydia Ko managed to stay one shot ahead of her and finish at 2-under par, and Lexi Thompson signed for a 3-under 68. Ariya Jutanugarn did not disappoint.  She signed for a 6-under 65 and is sleeping on a 1 shot lead over Inbee Park and Sei Young Kim.

There are some surprises, however, in the 1st round game Jutanugarn delivered.  The Big Bomber was averaging only about 241 yards off the tee – trailing Sei Young Kim, Nicole Broche Larsen, Carlota Ciganda and Lexi Thompson by 20 or more yards.  There’s still no driver in Jutanugarn’s bag and she was deadly accurate off the tee with her 3-wood.  In fact, only England’s Charley Hull and India’s Aditi Ashok did any better – they both hit 100% of the fairways on Gil Hanse’s Olympic Golf Course!

I’m still pondering what it could mean for the future of golf that Charley Hull hit 100% of the fairways off the tee!

Jutanugarn also led the field in strokes gained putting (2.826) – she was just plain on her game and if she maintains momentum even the very best players will be struggling to catch her.

However, we know golf doesn’t work that way and wire-to-wire victories are rare enough that bloggers like me love to write about them.  There’s much more golf to be played and I’m not expecting any single player to emerge as dominant until about lunch time on Saturday.

Look for the Americans to turn on the gas and get to work.  Stacy Lewis, who rarely makes a hot start, delivered a very competent game.  Piller started hot and cooled off.  And Thompson is playing hard and not letting up on the pressure.  They’ve just begun to run this 72-hole marathon.

The same can be said for the Spaniards. Carlota Ciganda and Azahara Munoz were both playing strong games.  Ciganda hit some nasty trouble on the 15th, but made a solid recovery and pulled it all together with a trio of pars.

Ko and Henderson?  I think they may both be struggling to keep those enormous national expectations in check.  They’re both mighty young, perhaps too young to be burdened with Canada’s and New Zealand’s hopes for Olympic gold.  Let’s hope they can get their emotions sized down to a more manageable level before they take the tee again.  I’d like to see them at their best, not so emotionally overwhelmed that they can’t deliver some competitive golf.

The first round pace felt a bit slow, but the media coverage was superb.  Annika Sorenstam brings a rare depth to her commentary – she’s anticipating and strategizing right along with the players.  This is a unique and very special athletic competition and Sorenstam is fully capturing the Olympic spirit as she guides us through the competition.

Cover Photo via Twitter