If the Women’s Olympic Golf event was contested over 144 holes instead of 72, Stephanie Meadow may well have been in contention for a medal after round-on-round improvement saw her close out with a two-under 70, following rounds of 78, 74 and 72 in rounds one to three respectively.
“Yeah, it was nice to get under par,” she said afterwards. “I played more solid today and I didn’t give up. You know, it’s been a long four days after starting +6, and I’m proud of myself that I kept going and got some cheers today from the Irish fans which was great.”
Despite her day-to-day improvement, she doesn’t feel that the course set up made Le Golf National an easier challenge as the week went on, instead suggesting that increased familiarity with the course and better shot execution were the main reasons.
“I think we’re all just getting used to it,” she said. “You know, it’s one of those courses where I think you need a few reps around it. The greens are very tricky to read so that took some getting used to, but honestly, execution is so important here and I did a better job of that today.”
Having made her Olympic debut in Rio in 2016 and then followed up at the restricted Tokyo Games in 2021, the Paris Olympics are something she’ll never forget, even though, no paper at least, her ultimate result will be the worst of her three appearances.
“It’s been fantastic,” she smiled. “Just to have the fans…. Every Olympics has been amazing, but this has probably been my favourite. My husband is here, the team is here, it’s my third one with Leona and she’s one of my best friends, it’s pretty cool to share that with everyone that’s close to me and I’m just feeling like, to be in the first group on the first day, that’s something I’ll never forget.”
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