Olympics: Titles to defend, history to chase

Here is a look at what to expect at the Rio 2016 Olympics women’s golf event this week.

Miriam Nagl of Brazil became the first woman in 116 years to hit an Olympic golf shot as competition got under way at the Rio Games on Wednesday.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Inbee Park, the most decorated major champion in the Olympics, finished her final practice round Tuesday when LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan walked by with a smile and a question. South Korea is a table tennis powerhouse winning all but four gold medals since table tennis joined the Olympic roster in 1988. The latest is a thumb that has ailed her for a while.

She hasn’t broken par on the LPGA Tour since April. She battled the wind at times on a warm, sunny day on the 6,245-yard course.

The No. 7 player in the world – who is representing the United States of America along with No. 4 Lexi Thompson and No. 15 Gerina Piller – married Gerrod Chadwell on August 7 in a small ceremony in Mystic, Conn. Lewis did get some golf in, however, as she and her husband, the women’s golf coach at the University of Houston, played 54 holes on their honeymoon in Charleston, S.C. Citing an inflamed ligament, Park withdrew after one round from both the Kingsmill and Volvik Championships prior before missing the cut at the Women’s PGA.

“I wasn’t too anxious because obviously I haven’t played that many events in a while”, said Park.

“Even seeing the men’s last week, I think there were two hole-in-ones and a couple of eagles, so I kind of put my contribution to golf in making an eagle, and it’s a really good feeling”.

“It is very special, because in Korea, a lot of amateurs for golf, they want to be professional on the LPGA”.

The men broke the ice in impressive fashion last week and with a far greater percentage of the female game’s best playing this week then it is hard to see this being less of a contest.

Nine of the top 10 in the women’s world ranking are competing. The Americans have three qualifiers, while no other country had more than one.

“For women’s golf, we’re going to get the biggest stage we’ve ever played on”.

Many women struggle to find their place at the golf course – they feel intimidated because they believe golf is a “boys club” and wonder where they fit in. The 20-year-old from Thailand draws former world No. 1, American Stacy Lewis, and South Korea’s Sei Young Kim. “It was good to see the guys, how much they appreciated being here and being part of it”.

Some of these women don’t come back as a result of the embarrassment. “But seeing how excited they were before the medals were awarded. exceeded everybody’s expectations”.

“My putting was probably the best part of my game today”, she said.

On Aug. 6, Lewis married Gerrod Chadwell, the women’s golf coach at the University of Houston. Henderson is paired with Suzann Pettersen and Lexi Thompson and goes off at 8:14 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Rookie Brooke M. Henderson has been fantastic and should be in the running for a bronze medal.

Ha-Na Jang is the unlucky world No. 10 who failed to be picked because of the huge strength in depth in Korean golf.