Virginia Elena Carta shot a three-under-par 69 to finish in a four-way tie at the top of the leader board in the Women’s Competition in the Youth Olympic Games at Zhongshan International Golf Club today.
The young Italian made three birdies and no bogies to produce a faultless scorecard but admitted it could have been much better. “I played a really good long game and hit 16 greens in regulation,” she said. “Pretty much every time it was inside four metres but I didn’t hole many putts.”
Carta said she was delighted to be playing golf in the Olympics. “It feels really good. It has forever been our dream to have golf in the Olympic games. It’s really special being part of an Italian team. We’ve won a few medals already and it’s been really cool hanging out with other Italian athletes.”
Carta was joined on three-under-par by three young athletes from Asia, Korean Lee Soyoung, Cheng Ssu-Chia from Chinese Taipei and Japan’s Maria Shinohara.
Lee, ranked 50th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, said she was really pleased with her long game but was disappointed with her performance on the greens. She bogied the ninth hole, her last, leaving here feeling a little frustrated but enjoying her experience of the Youth Olympics none the less.
“I could have made more birdies. Actually I didn’t even know I am leading. I’m satisfied to be among the leaders but not with my score. I left a lot of putts short.
“Usually the tournaments I play are golf only, so I can make friends with other golfers but this is the Youth Olympic Games. It is really good to make friends with people from other countries and athletes from other sports.”
Shinohara started her day with a birdie on the 10th hole and made the turn in 35, one-under-par, having added two more birdies but offsetting them with a pair of bogies. She finished strongly birdieing three holes in her last five and coming in with two pars to card her 69.
“I would like to repeat the same thing as the first round, so I can give myself a good chance of a medal.”
Asked about playing in the Youth Olympic Games for the first time she said, “It’s so much fun, seeing so many people from other countries and I can interact with many other athletes from all over the world.”
Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Ssu-Chia played a faultless front nine, having started on the 10th hole. She had three birdies and no bogies to reach the turn at three-under-par. She couldn’t capitalise on her strong start though and having added another birdie at the first to get to four-under-par she recorded two bogey sixes on her back nine before finishing with a birdie to join the four way tie for the lead at three-under-par. Cheng will tee off on the first hole in the final group tomorrow at 10am.
For the full leaderboard in the Youth Olympic Games Women’s Individual Stroke Play Competition please visit:
http://www.nanjing2014.org/en/en_sports/GamestimeResults.htm.