Aditi Ashok kept her smile intact even as her 25-foot birdie attempt ball slid past the cup on the 18th and final hole. With that Aditi knew that her final chance of a shot at the medal in the Olympic women’s golf had gone. Aditi, who was tied second when the final round started, carded 3-under 68 with five birdies against two bogeys for a total of 15-under. That left her in fourth place and one shot shy of the play-off for silver and bronze medals.

India’s other player in the field, Diksha Dagar shot 70, her best this week, for a total of 6-over and finished T-50th.

Nelly Korda kept her nerves despite a double bogey on the front nine, to give the Americans a sweep of gold medals in golf. Korda shot 2-under 69 to win gold with a total of 17-under. Japan’s Mone Inami (65) and Lydia Ko (65) played brilliant final rounds to go ahead of Aditi. Inami and Ko reached 16-under and in the play-off for silver Inami edged aside Ko. The New Zealander Ko with her bronze medal became the first double medallist in golf since its return to the Olympic programme in 2016. She had silver in Rio.

Interestingly Aditi, the 2016 Hero Indian Open winner, was one of the only three players in the field who had all three rounds in the 60s with 67-66-68-58 for a total of 15-under 269. The other two were Nelly Korda (67-62-69-69) and eighth placed Korean Kim Sei Young.

As the finish approached but before the medals were decided there was a lot of drama over whether the final round could be completed on Saturday. Late on Friday there was talk of a tropical storm which might mean no play on Saturday and push the action to Sunday. The organisers found a way with a 6.30 am early start on Saturday but then there was threat of lightning with the final group on 17th hole.

Luckily little over half an hour later, weather cleared for a while and play resumed for the medals to be decided. If there had been no play, Aditi would have got a silver medal behind Korda on the basis of three rounds.

Of her play on the final day, Aditi admitted, “I think today I didn't really drive the ball very good and then it's hard to get birdie putts or hit greens when you're not in the fairway. So, yeah, that was definitely the hardest part to make a score today.”

Talking of her par on 15th which Ko birdied, Aditi said, “I mean 15 was okay, it was nothing, I was just scrambling, I was in between clubs so I hit one more and it went over. But I don't think it was that bad. I still made a par, so it's fine. I was just missing so many fairways. The front nine I just hit one and I think the back nine I must have hit maybe a couple more, maybe three or four more. So that was what was bad today, kind of put me out of position so I couldn't get close to the flag.”

Her putting was outstanding over the week, yet she had narrow misses on the 17th and 18th. “Yeah, 17 was perfect. I hit it exactly the speed I wanted, the line I wanted. Maybe (because) I made too many through the four rounds, golfing gods were like, okay, we're not going to give her this one. But no, I just tried my best. Even on the last hole, although it was really out of range (25 feet), it was almost a long putt, but I still tried to give it a chance. So yeah, I think I gave it my best attempt.“

Korda, who at one time led by as many as three shots on the back nine, needed two putts from just inside 30 feet on the 18th hole for par and a 2-under 69 which sufficed for the top prize.

For the 23-year-old Korda, who won her first major championship six weeks ago and rose to No. 1 in the world for the first time, this Olympic gold was another glitzy finish.

Mone Inami who was tied for first with Korda after 17 made bogey from a plugged lie in the bunker on the 18th hole to fall into a playoff against Lydia Ko of New Zealand for the silver medal. Inami then managed to win the play-off for silver.

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