Morgane Metraux moves into Olympics lead; Nelly Korda's quadruple sinks strong round

GUYANCOURT, France -- Switzerland's Morgane Metraux led the Olympic women's golf contest after Thursday's second round, propelled by a sensational front-nine holes, while French overnight leader Celine Boutier was among those to suffer on a testing course.

The 27-year-old Swiss had two eagles and four birdies in a bogey-free front nine holes to reach 10 under par for the tournament. She suffered three bogeys on the back nine but limited the damage to reach the clubhouse at 8 under par.

Playing at Le Golf National south of Paris this week for the first time, Metraux said she stuck to a straightforward plan and took advantage of favorable weather conditions.

"I didn't know the golf course until Monday. So it's all very new for me," Metraux said. "But it's simple in a way that you know that you just have to hit fairways and greens here. If you don't, it's going to be very difficult."

Metraux is an Olympic debutant after choosing not to go to Tokyo while she was chasing a spot on the prestigious LPGA Tour. Her sister Kim represented Switzerland three years ago alongside Albane Valenzuela, who is in Paris for her third Games.

China's Yin Ruoning moved up to second place after matching Boutier's first-day round of 65 to go seven under, followed by New Zealand's Lydia Ko at five-under in third.

Boutier, who cruised into a three-stroke lead at 7 under par thanks to exceptional putting on Thursday, started in steady fashion to reach eight under after 12 holes in the second round.

But she then endured two double-bogeys and a bogey in a grueling stretch between the 13th and 15th holes to slip back to 3 under par, a score she kept to end the day in tied-sixth position.

Tokyo gold medalist Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player in the world rankings, also suffered on the back nine. Korda carded a quadruple bogey on the 16th navigating the water hazard and bunker before tapping in for a 7 with a one-hand putt to finish a near-miss on her initial 8-footer that held on high of the hole.

That spoiled the American's impressive earlier play which lifted her from level-par overnight to 6 under on the 15th. Nonetheless, a birdie on the 18th helped her stay in the hunt at 2 under par in tied-12th place.

"Just a series of unfortunate events happened in a row," Korda said. "Overall, I still shot under par. I'm going to try and take the positive."

Korda is tied for 12th with Rose Zhang (United States), who also started 72-70 in the first two rounds in Paris.

The women's tournament follows the same format as the men's contest won by American Scottie Scheffler last Sunday, with 60 participants competing in a 72-hole, stroke-play contest over four days.

--Reuters, Special to Field Level Media