New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko now has the full rainbow of Olympic medals.
A tearful Ko rolled in a six-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole at Le Golf National on Saturday (Sunday NZ Time) for a two-shot victory and the gold medal in the women's strokeplay tournament on the Paris Olympics.
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The 27-year-old had looked like she was heading for a comfortable victory as she started the back-nine, before things got tight as she closed with a one-under 71, which featured four birdie, a bogey and double-bogey.
After birdieing the par-five ninth for the third straight day, Ko had a four-shot lead and after teeing off on the 10th, China's Ruoning Yin bogeyed the 12th to put her five ahead.
However, Ko put her second shot at the par-four 13th into the water, making double-bogey, while Germany's Esther Henseleit made a charge, shrinking her lead to two.
The two-time women's major winner made four straight pars, while Henseleit, who closed with an six-under 66, dropped a birdie at the 18th to get within one, putting even more pressure on.
Ko split the fairway with her tee shot on the par-five 18th, made the smart decision to lay up to the right with a nine-iron, then pitched to within six feet, giving her some cushion, needing to just two-putt for victory.
Starting the day in a share of the lead, Ko bogeyed the first hole but recovered with a birdie at the par-five third, a hole she birdied in every round, to retake the lead.
Her round got going with a long double-break birdie putt on the par-four seventh, taking a three-stroke lead as the challenges of USA's Rose Zhang and Nelly Korda, 54-hole co-leader Morgane Metraux of Switzerland, Japan's Miyu Yamashita and Yin faltered.
Not only did Ko add a gold medal to the silver from Rio 2016 and bronze from Tokyo 2020, she also collected the point she had been chasing in 2024 to become the youngest golfer to qualify for induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
The gold medal moved New Zealand to eight in Paris, matching the country's best total at an Olympics, at Los Angeles 1984. The NZ Team now has eight gold, seven silver and two bronze and sit 11th on the medal table.
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