What happens if the Olympic women’s golf tournament is rained out?

Kasumigaseki Country Club

Play was suspended on Saturday at Kasumigaseki Country Club due to storms.

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Sixty golfers may play what amounts to a practice round at Kasumigaseki Country Club.

Should the final round of the Olympic women’s golf tournament be postponed — and it was delayed due to storms early Saturday afternoon in Japan — the event would revert to its third-round scores. Which means that the fourth-round scores would be tossed out. 

In that scenario, Nelly Korda would win the gold, and Aditi Ashok silver. Bronze? That’s where it might get wild. 

Lydia Ko, Hannah Green, Emily Kristine Pedersen and Mone Inami were tied for third after the third round. According to a notice to players sent out by the International Golf Federation, “in the event of a playoff for medal positions, the Committee may alter the playoff holes, or the order of the playoff holes, depending on weather and course conditions.” But there was no word on what might happen if play would be impossible ahead of the closing ceremonies on Sunday, when the Games end. 

Of course, another option would be to complete all of the final round on Sunday in Japan, weather permitting.

Nick Piastowski

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.