It was a blistering start to the second round of the Women’s Olympic Golf Competition as Morgane Metraux fired an Olympic record on her front nine.
The Swiss star began day two in a tie for third place after an opening round of 70 (-2) at Le Golf National.
But Metraux soon raced into the lead after firing a phenomenal eight-under 28 on the front nine in France.
After starting with a birdie at the first, the 27-year-old eagled the par-5 third hole when she sunk her 18-foot putt.
The two-time LET winner followed that with three birdies on the trot on holes four, five and six before making another eagle on the par-5 ninth to make the turn in 28 (-8).
“There was barely any wind this morning. It was perfect conditions and the course is just perfect,” she said. “If you hit a good putt, you know it’s going to go in because the greens are rolling so well.
“I was really calm. I knew my game is in a good spot, and I was rolling it well. It was actually surprisingly very calm starting the round. The difference between yesterday and today at the beginning is just the putts that fell. It just brought me confidence going forward and I just tried to stay as present as I could and do one shot at a time.”
It was a slightly tricker back nine for the Swiss player who made one further birdie at 14, as well as bogeys at 13, 15 and 18.
However, a second round of six-under 66 sees Metraux sitting at the top of the leaderboard with a total of eight-under at the 36-hole mark.
Metraux continued: “I actually tried not to think about it on the back nine and just keep doing the same things. The swing didn’t feel as good on the back nine, and on those short holes, if you get slightly off-line, it gets really tricky.
“The rough is really thick and the greens are really firm. It’s not that I played worse, just one or two shots that cost me a few. The putt, for example, on 10 didn’t drop. It’s not that big of a difference but the score changes quite quickly.”
The impressive front nine was the first 28 to be recorded on nine holes in both the men’s and women’s Olympic golf competitions this year.
Metraux, who won her second LET title in France earlier this year at the Jabra Ladies Open, was also happy to see some Swiss flags in the crowd.
She added: “I’m still in a great position for the last two days. It’s always fun to see yourself on top of the leaderboard. I’ve worked a lot on my game in the last week, and obviously prior to that.
“But last week I did a lot of good work and I was feeling good about what I was doing. I just didn’t realize it was going to be good. There are few good events coming up after this, too, so it’s very promising.
“It’s always fun to see Swiss flags and people shouting my name. When I make a birdie, they make a lot of noise. It’s fun to know there’s so many people supporting me. I don’t take it as pressure. I’m just happy I can perform in front of them and have that much support. It’s really fun.”
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