There are many ways to win, but the one chosen by Lydia Ko to build her own legend was one of the most beautiful in living memory. The goal was to achieve an unattainable milestone, to become the only golfer to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the Olympic Games.
She won silver at Rio de Janeiro 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020, but to win all the medals she needed to be the best at Paris 2024. She took on such a Herculean challenge with seeming calmness, quiet for the first two rounds before reaching a shared lead in the third.
In the final round, the main contenders gathered around the glory staged a more than expected furious onslaught, with the resultant scorecards attempting to undermine Lydia Ko's position of privilege.
First it was China's Ruoning Yin who proposed 4 under par in 6 holes; then it was Australia's Hannah Green who stalked the lead with another equally brilliant option, another 4 under par in 8 holes... and so many more, the most aggressive candidates, proposals and more proposals that proved unsuccessful in the face of an unperturbed Lydia Ko.
Germany's Esther Henseleit, with 7 under par on the last day, and China's Xiyu Lin with -3, also joined the party, putting in trouble those who continued to exhibit serenity as a philosophy of life, even when a double bogey on the 13th hole seemed to undermine all the foundations built over three and a half days adhering to the most impassive calm.
The predicament, however, was a mirage. Germany's Henseleit, who shot the best round of the day (66), was chewing her nails in the clubhouse during the obligatory 45-minute wait before Lydia Ko finished her round.
Separated by just one stroke, she longed for some additional mistake, some even temporary faltering, but Lydia Ko once again opted for calm and discretion. Far from tense gestures or euphoria, the New Zealander played a calm course in her final five holes, allowing herself the luxury of making a birdie on her final hole to reaffirm herself as an Olympic gold medallist, possibly the most beautiful way to build a legend of her own that will last in time.
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Thirteenth place for Azahara Muñoz, best Spaniard
Not far from those privileged positions, related to medals and Olympic diplomas, Azahara Muñoz, thirteenth classified, shone with her own light on the final day with her third consecutive 69.
The Spanish golfer was an example of conviction and courage, serenity and poise, taking advantage of the opportunities created by her own good play. It was a question of completing a patient reaction begun on the second day to compensate for an opening round of 78 strokes that led her almost to hell.
The comeback finally came to the surface in a final round where the applause with which she was greeted after finishing the 18th hole contained her well-deserved prize. It was time to enjoy, to show all the good things, to proclaim to the four winds the satisfaction of a job well done.
A bogey on the eighth hole had been left behind, compensated for by four birdies that led the Malaga native to be considered the best Spaniard, to fight seriously for a diploma... to feel truly satisfied. "I have made a spectacular comeback", summed up Azahara Muñoz with a gleam of pride in her eyes.
By contrast, away from the spotlight was once again Carlota Ciganda, also on the last day, in which she had set herself the lesser evil of lowering the par of the course. The player from Navarre tried with a game that did not acquire the necessary lustre, dangerously alternating hits with errors. All until the last three holes, a painful succession of three bogeys that definitively buried her round.
The muddled experience, embodied in cards of 73, 78 and two 75s for 13 over par, was reflected in his words: "I'm very sorry, but the course has beaten me every day and I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth".
