GAVIN Green has set the bar. Now, it’s up to Ashley Lau (pic) to go beyond.
Despite the presence of a world class field that made the Paris Olympics golf tournament the “fifth Major of the year”, Gavin was not intimidated as he scored a four-day total of three-under 281 (74-69-69-69).
He finished joint 33rd spot, his best achievement in the Olympics in third try.
Ashley now begins her quest when the women’s first round begins at the Le Golf National today. Qualifying for the Olympics itself has been fine achievement for Bintulu-born Ashley, ranked world No. 316, and all she wants is to savour every moment of the Games in Paris.
Ashley arrived early and took part in opening ceremony parade of boats. Having acclimatised well, she should feel relaxed before the start of the competition.
“I will plan and treat the event the same way I will approach my other tournaments,” said Ashley.
“There will be nerves but I hope I can calm down once the competition starts and enjoy my game out there.”
Ashley will tee off alongside Alessandra Fanali of Italy and Ursula Wikstrom of Finland today and an under par round would be a dream start for the Malaysian.
Meanwhile, the focus will be on world No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States who is out to defend the gold she won three years ago. But she has her compatriots Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang as well as Maja Stark of Sweden as big threats.
The ever-green Lydia Ko of New Zealand is also aiming to complete her set of medals in the Olympics with only the gold missing from her collection. Ko won the silver at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and settled for bronze at 2020 Tokyo.
