Nasa Hataoka, of Japan, watches her tee shot on the second hole during the first round of the women's golf event at the Summer Olympics, on Aug. 4, 2021, at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe, Japan. (AP Photo/Matt York)

       KAWAGOE, Japan (Kyodo) -- The Olympic women's golf tournament began Wednesday at Kasumigaseki Country Club near Tokyo following the high drama of a nail-biting seven-way playoff for men's bronze this past weekend.

       Nasa Hataoka, ranked ninth in the world, and 28th-ranked Mone Inami are representing Japan, while 10th-ranked Yuka Saso, whose father is Japanese, is one of two players competing for the Philippines.

       All three Rio Games medalists, South Korea's Park In Bee, Kiwi Lydia Ko and China's Feng Shanshan, are back for another shot at Olympic glory in an elite field of 60 players which contains all the current top 10 in the world rankings.

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0