Inbee Park Wins Olympic Golf Gold Medal

New Zealand's Lydia Ko won silver and China's Shanshan Feng took bronze

Inbee Park Wins Olympic Golf Gold Medal

Inbee Park Wins Olympic Golf Gold Medal by five strokes as world number one Lydia Ko earns silver for New Zealand and China's Shanshan Feng takes bronze

Inbee Park Wins Olympic Golf Gold Medal

South Korea's Inbee Park shot a sublime 66 to win the Women's Olympic Golf tournament by five strokes from world number one Lydia Ko.

The 7-time major winner ended at -16 after seven birdies and two bogies. Four of those came on the front nine as she went out in 31 (-4) and raced clear of the pack who never truly threatened her lead.

Inbee Park Wins Olympic Golf Gold Medal

Inbee had great support. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

The 28-year-old, who qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame earlier this year, hadn't played a competitive tournament for two months due to a thumb injury.

World number one Lydia Ko took the silver medal with a gutsy birdie on the last to beat China's Shanshan Feng by a stroke.

Ko birdied three of the last five holes to catch Feng who was alone in second place and looking good for silver mid-way through the back nine.

Feng played her last seven holes in +1 and failed to birdie the reachable par-5 18th so took bronze at -10 for the tournament.

Related: Justin Rose Wins Olympic Gold in Rio Thriller

It wasn't quite the ending England's Charley Hull would have hoped for but she can be proud after another excellent performance on the world stage. The 20-year-old ended with a 68 (-3) to get to -8, which left her in T7th and two short of Feng.

Hull showed incredible ball striking all week, but couldn't quite hole enough putts on the final two days to score what her tee-to-green game deserved.

Inbee Park Wins Olympic Golf Gold Medal

Charley Hull tees off the first in the final round. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Related: A history of Olympic Golf

Hull's Team GB Teammate Catriona Matthew ended at level par for 29th place after a 70 (-1).

Russia's Maria Verchenova shot the lowest round of the entire Olympics, including the men's tournament, with a 62 (-9) that included a hole-in-one at the fourth, nine birdies and two bogeys.

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Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!

Elliott is currently playing:

Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV