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Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Lydia Ko repeatedly closed her eyes and took slow breaths, while using soft approaches and clutch putts to hold a narrow lead and earn Olympic gold Saturday in the Paris 2024 women's golf tournament. Ko, who shared the lead with Switzerland's Morgane Metraux to start Saturday's final round, held a one-stroke advantage down the stretch before a birdie on No. 18 to clinch the title at Le Golf National.
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"The fans have been awesome and I feel like they pushed me to Just keep working hard and be confident and trust myself and it's been a fairytale of a week," Ko told NBC.
Ko fired a 1-under 71 over her last 18 holes, to finish two strokes better than silver medalist Esther Henseleit of Germany.
With her victory, Ko became the first golfer -- female or male -- to earn all three Olympic medals in golf. Ko earned bronze at Tokyo 2020 and silver at Rio 2016.
"Winning the silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo, they were some of the biggest highlights in my whole career and in my life and to be able to be holding gold here in Paris, it's honestly a dream come true," Ko said.
She also qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame with the gold-medal finish.
Ko carded a bogey on her first hole, but went on to hole three birdies on the front nine and was 2-under at the turn. She made par on her next three holes, but then carded a triple bogey on No. 13. Ko made par on her next four holes, clinging to a one-stroke lead.
She then shed tears of joy as she watched her birdie put drop into the hole on No. 18, sealing her spot atop the podium.
Henseleit carded a 6-under 66 on Saturday, the best final-round score of the field in Guyancourt, France. China's Xi Yu Lin, who finished at 7-under for a bronze medal, carded a final-round 69.
Metraux carded a 7-over 79 over her final 18 holes. She tied for 18th.
Rose Zhang, who tied for eighth at 5-under, was the top American. Team USA's Nelly Korda, the No. 1 golfer in the world, tied for 22nd at 1-under. American Lilia Vu tied for 36th at 5-over.
