SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – As groups came down the 18th fairway at Le Golf National on Monday, many attempted to reach the final green with their second shots before proceeding to the layup area to also try their hand from there.
Le Golf National will play similar for this week’s Olympic women’s golf tournament as it did last week for the men with the notable exception being the 18th hole, which will play as a 447-yard par 5 compared to a 471-yard par 4 for the men.
Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America’s chief championship officer who is tasked with setting up the Albatross Course for both the men’s and women’s tournament, was out early Monday preparing for the women’s tournament and said he expects the majority of players to attempt to reach the 18th green in two shots.
"I did not know it was a par 5 until I walked up to the green. I was like, I'm going to have a 5-iron and hybrid into a par 4," defending gold medalist Nelly Korda said Monday after her practice round. "Now that I know it's a par 5, maybe we can take a little bit more risk on the tee shot. I know there's water on the left and it runs away. For us, we are in between clubs. I'm in between a little bit of a chippy driver and a 3-wood."
Also worth noting will be the length of rough for the women, with Haigh explaining that the “third cut” of rough, which is farthest from the fairway, was reduced by about a half-inch. The first two cuts of rough have not been trimmed since the men finished on Sunday.
“I've only played nine holes so far but it's definitely a challenging course, and then the rough is obviously very thick,” said France’s Celine Boutier, who has more experience playing Le Golf National than most in the 60-player Olympic field. “It's going to be a good tournament. I think it's definitely one of the most challenging ones just because of the hazards and the rough. Any mistakes can definitely cost you a lot.”
The 18th hole, as a par 4, was the toughest hole for the men with a 4.43 scoring average, followed by the 17th hole, also a par 4, with a 4.22 average. Two players tied the Albatross Course record of 62 last week, including gold medalist Scottie Scheffler in his final round. The women's event will play to a par 72 and 6,374 yards, rather than a par 71 and 7,174 yards on the card for the men.