Olympics: Nelly Korda arrives as favorite; here are odds, prediction

Fresh off Scottie Scheffler’s gold medal win, 60 of the best female players in the world will compete in the Women’s Olympic Golf Competition this week at Le Golf National.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who has already had a historic 2024 campaign, arrives in Paris as the overwhelming favorite. Similar to Scheffler, Korda’s odds are currently hovering around 4-to-1 on most markets, a testament to how well she has played this year.

But Korda has struggled somewhat in recent weeks, missing the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club and the KPMG Women’s Championship at Sahalee. She most recently tied for 26th at the Amundi Evian Championship in France, her worst finish of the nine events in which she has made the cut.

And yet, she won five straight tournaments, including the Chevron Championship in mid-April. She then won her sixth event of the year at Liberty National by one stroke over Australian Hannah Green, even though Korda did not have her best stuff on that Sunday in New Jersey.

“Hopefully, [my game is] trending in the right direction. I took some time off after Evian, put my clubs to the side for a week, and then grinded for two weeks,” Korda said about the state of her game.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

“I have [my coach] out here with me this week, and he’s always really nice to be around and keeps it super light. You know, the game of golf of is a funny game. Sometimes, you feel on top of the world, and in a matter of a couple of seconds, you just feel like you’re on the bottom of the sea. So it definitely makes you appreciate the good golf that you play, but you have to have a mix of everything in there, and everything can’t always go well.”

Indeed, a golfer’s season is typically a rollercoaster ride filled with more despair than triumph, a testament to the sport’s difficulty and the reality of being a professional. That certainly applies to Korda, who has not been the same player since recording a 10 on the par-3 12th during the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open.

However, Korda did win the gold medal in Tokyo in 2021.

So, even though Korda has not replicated her success from earlier this season, it would still surprise nobody if she took home the gold again.

Odds:

Here are the latest odds for the Women’s Golf Competition in Paris, provided by DraftKings.

Nelly Korda +400

Attaya Thitikul +850

Lilia Vu +900

Jin Young Ko +1100

Brooke Henderson +1400

Rose Zhang +1600

Linn Grant +1600

Miyu Yamashita +1800

Minjee Lee +1800

Hyo Joo Kim +1800

Celine Boutier +1800

Ruoning Yin +2000

Hannah Green +2000

Xiu Lin +2200

Charley Hull +2200

Patty Tavatanakit +2500

Leona Maguire +2500

Yuka Saso +3000

Lydia Ko +3000

Georgia Hall +3500

Carlota Ciganda +3500

Amy Yang +400

Maja Stark +4500

Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Predictions:

Bronze: Nelly Korda (United States)

Korda will once again reach the podium, but this time, she will take home the bronze. Le Golf National, a challenging track that will play as a par-72 this week for the women, requires length and rewards good ball-striking, two attributes Korda has. Plus, she just spent a few weeks at home with her family, re-charging her batteries and preparing for the Olympics and Women’s Open. So, she arrives in Paris refreshed, and I like Korda to re-discover her form and contend but ultimately finish in third in a close competition.

Silver: Hannah Green (Australia)

Hannah Green is the only player on the LPGA this season to record multiple victories besides Korda, winning the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March and the JM Eagle Championship in late April. She also finished solo second to Korda at Liberty National and has not missed a cut since The Chevron in mid-April, proof that she is currently one of the best female players in the world. The Aussie will rely on her terrific ball-striking to take home silver on Saturday.

Gold: Celine Boutier (France)

The gold medal for women’s golf will stay in France, as Celine Boutier will emerge victorious at Le Golf National, a course she has played hundreds of times. Perhaps no player has a better feel for this challenging layout than Boutier, which leads me to believe she will have plenty of success this week. Plus, she is due. Her last win came in October 2023, when she won in Malaysia. Boutier’s best finish came earlier this year at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, where she lost to Hannah Green. But this time, it will be Boutier besting Green on her home turf in Paris.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.