Xiyu Lin clinched a bronze medal in the Olympic women’s golf competition after a final round of 69 (-3) at Le Golf National.
The Chinese star sat in a share of seventh place overnight and was in medal contention for the majority of the day in France.
It was the final few holes where Lin pushed herself into real contention making back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 to get to seven-under-par.
Despite a bogey on the 17th, the 28-year-old rolled in a birdie at the last to finish in outright third place and come home with a medal.
Lin follows in the footsteps of compatriot Shanshan Feng, who won the bronze medal at Rio in 2016.
It was a phone call with her Rio 2016 teammate Feng with some sound advice that gave the three-time LET winner a much-needed boost.
“When I was about to fly to Paris, I called Shanshan. Shanshan is Shanshan. She’s just happy every day,” said Lin.
“She’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ I’m like, ‘I’m so anxious’ because I feel like this year, I haven’t been doing lots of good. I mean, I’ve been doing some good, but my game hasn’t been like super sharp. I had my own struggles.
“And I said to Shanshan, ‘I don’t know, what should I be thinking going into this Olympics?’ She just asked me. She said, ‘Well, this is your third. So, what finish you think that you will be happy with yourself?’ I’m like, ‘Just get a medal.’ She’s like, ‘let’s just do it then.’ I feel like that conversation was very important for me and it narrowed everything down.
“I feel like this week, it’s just very different to any other tournament in many ways. There’s no cut, but then also you’re playing for your country and it’s a tough golf course. It’s almost like a major setup and there’s a reward for second and third place, which normally it doesn’t.
“I just felt like after I talked to her, I was trying to think what she had done in Rio to win the bronze medal. I felt like she really enjoyed the week. She smiled at everybody, and she waved at all the fans that cheered for her and I just feel like I’m going to adapt that, and I think that’s what I’ve done this week.
“We had a great week both on and off the course and also having my fiancée and the families and agents, lots of people here with me, it’s amazing. I feel like I just pulled in Shanshan and that won me a bronze medal.”
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