Morgane Metraux produced a 59 watch and endured an official watch in a wildly dichotomous second round of the Olympic women’s golf competition.
The 27-year-old Swiss golfer made eight 3s over her opening nine holes at Le Golf Natinal on Thursday, but her group was put on the clock around the turn. She was then assessed a “bad time” by official Mark Litton on the 13th hole, where she made her first bogey of the day.
With Litton keeping a close eye on the group – and on his stopwatch – throughout the back nine, Metraux finished off a 66 for a two-shot lead when she signed her card.
And, fortunately for her, there were no penalties assessed – at least not from an official. Metraux hit her second shot into the water at the par-5 18th en route to a bogey. After reaching 10 under at one point, she finished at minus-8, two clear of New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who was still on the course.
Metraux, a third-year LPGA player, began the second round trailing France’s Celine Boutier by five. She then birdied the first, eagled the par-5 third and birdied Nos. 4-6. She added another eagle at the par-5 ninth for an 8-under 28. The only ‘4’ she recorded over her opening nine was at the par-4 seventh.
“I was really calm. I knew my game is in a good spot, and I was rolling it well,” she said after her round. “It was actually surprisingly very calm starting the round.”
But while she had stormed into first place, she wasn’t moving at a rapid enough pace.
NBC Sports’ on-course reporter John Wood said Metraux’s group, which include Spain’s Azahara Munoz and the Philippines’ Bianca Pagdanganan, was put on the clock late on the front nine.
After three pars to start her inward half, Metraux was given a bad time warning at the 13th and went on to record her first bogey of the day. She bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 14th but made another bogey at the 15th.
Following back-to-back pars at Nos. 16 and 17, Metraux thinned an iron from 162 yards into the water fronting the green. The final bogey gave her nines of 28-38 for her 66.
SEE MORE: 2024 Olympic women’s golf Round 2 leaderboard: Updates, scores, highlights, news, analysis
Is this Morgane Metraux’s first Olympics?
Yes. She qualified for the Tokyo Games, which were contested in 2021 because of the COVID pandemic, but she opted out in order to focus on her professional career. At the time, she was competing on the LPGA’s developmental tour (currently known as the Epson Tour), which provided her pathway to the primary circuit. Metraux’s replacement on the Swiss team was her older sister, Kim, who is currently a professional on the Ladies European Tour.
How many wins does Morgane Metraux have?
Metraux, from Lausanne, Switzerland, has two wins on the Ladies European Tour and one win on the Epson Tour. She has not yet won on the LPGA, where she is in her third full season. After finishing 89th on the season-long points list each of the last two years, she is currently 96th (the top 100 earn/retain member for the following year). Her best finish is a T-4 at the Pelican Women’s Championship in Nov. 2021. That is one of four career top-10 finishes for Metraux.
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