By: Max Bechtoldt
When you look at the history of the Olympics in women’s golf, one thing is abundantly clear, the stars tend to shine bright. While the men have seen unlikely medalists like Rory Sabbatini and CT Pan, the women have generally seen the best in the world. Morgane Metraux could be the biggest Cinderella story we’ve seen yet.
Four of the five players to medal in the Olympics, Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Inbee Park and Shanshan Feng, have been major champions. The one outlier is Japan’s Mone Inami. Inami was a star on the JLPGA at the time, enough to be ranked No. 28 in the Rolex Rankings. Inami had already had five JLPGA wins in 2021 leading into the Olympics. While she wasn’t on the LPGA Tour yet, she was maybe the most accomplished international tour player at the time.
Enter Morgane Metraux, a player few were talking about coming into this week. Metraux is ranked No. 137 in the Rolex Rankings. She has missed nine cuts on the LPGA Tour this season, with only one top-40 finish, which was a top five at Shoprite. The highlight of the year thus far for Metraux was her second-career LET win in May, a tournament played on the border of Switzerland.
Metraux has finished inside the top 50 at a major twice in her career. Strokes gained approach is the only advanced stat she is inside the top 50 of on the LPGA Tour this season, and she ranks No. 49 there.
But, for one week, none of this has mattered. Coming from a relatively weaker country for the sport, Metraux got in the field, and has played some of the best golf of her professional life. She ranks fifth this week in strokes gained approach. Her putter, for which she loses almost .3 strokes per round for this season, has come alive. She’s now gaining almost four this week, top 10 in the field.
This is a chance for a career-defining moment for the 27-year-old from Switzerland. And it should be fun trying to see her crash the party alongside all of these superstars. Who knows what would be next for her, Solheim Cup potentially?
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