China’s Feng Shrugs off Talk of Retirement

Tokyo, Japan: China’s Feng Shanshan fell shy of winning an Olympic medal after signing off with a four-under 67 in the women’s golf competition. The 10-time LPGA Tour winner, who won the bronze in Rio 2016, finished solo eighth on 11-under 273 at Kasumigaseki Country Club – five strokes behind bronze medallist Lydia Ko of New Zealand who lost in a play-off to Japan’s Mone Inami after both tied on 16-under.

American world number one Nelly Korda, the overnight leader, claimed the gold medal by one shot after closing with a 69 for a winning total of 17-under 267.

Feng’s countrywoman, Lin Xiyu shared ninth place after a final round 68.

“I didn’t have a great start, but I felt like the last three days I played like a champion, even though I was really behind after the first round. There’s no regret because this is golf. In the Olympics, you have the best girls in the world playing and you have to have four good days to be able to win a medal,” said Feng.

After opening with a 74, Feng bounced back with a 64 in the second round before adding a 68 on Friday to keep alive her hopes of earning a podium finish again. In the final round, she made five birdies against a lone bogey but she did not quite threaten the leaders in the groups behind her.

“The girls at the top, they deserve it. I’m very happy to see some new faces, some players who are not ranked really high but they’re all up there competing for the medal. I’m very happy to see that because we need some new faces from new countries,” said 32-year-old Feng, who shrugged off talk of an impending retirement.

“I wouldn’t say I’m retired yet,” added the former world number one. “I would like to play some more on the LPGA.”

Lin, 25, hopes her top-10 at the Olympics will be the springboard to a maiden victory on the LPGA Tour. “I think there’s a lot of positives,” said the two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour. “This week, there are many things I did really, really well. The only thing that I think is missing is the performance on the greens. But in general, top-10 it’s a big compliment for me.”

While there are no prizes for those who finish outside the top-three at the Olympics, Lin is already looking forward to resuming her chase for success on the LPGA Tour and has her eye on Paris 2024. She said there was always expectations when representing her country and believes she will be better prepared for the next Olympics.

She said: “I’m entering the tournament wishing to be able to get a medal. So that’s a little extra pressure because we only have one start in every four years. In general, I had a great week. Getting into Tokyo gave me lots of confidence because two years ago, I wasn’t even close to being on the team. This year because of some key performances, I ended up in this tournament.

“It gave me lots of confidence and I will be looking forward to representing China again in Paris and looking forward to a breakthrough on the LPGA Tour.”