The local wildlife, a spectacle

The 250 native species of the Marapendi Reserve are a tremendous attraction for spectators enjoying Olympic golf. In addition to those living within the playing areas, such as capybaras, caimans, and all kinds of birds, there are some very curious monkeys in the protected grounds that are a popular subject for photographers.

A field for men

It's not a matter of discrimination, but of logistics. Holding the men's and women's tournaments back-to-back has been a headache for the course's infrastructure team. Naturally, they haven't had time to move the permanent fixtures, like the stands at the tee boxes, and this means the women now tee off from a less welcoming position, lacking the usual fan support. Similarly, the restrooms for the players are located at the same distance as the men's, so the women have to take a considerable walk each time they need to use them.

Bars are in a bad way.

The lower attendance at the first few days of the women's tournament has caught beverage vendors off guard. They were used to long queues of customers last week, but now most of the kiosks have closed due to the lack of business. They do hope, however, that the situation will change on the final day and they can make a good profit.

Captains who repeat

Although it is usual for the men's and women's teams to have different representatives at these Games, there are three countries that have decided to offer the responsibility to the same people: Gary Player, Ian Baker-Finch and Paul McGingley are serving as captains for the two weeks.

Azahara Muñoz (13th place; 69 strokes today (-2); -5 total)

“The truth is that I’ve played well from the beginning. I hit a couple of bad drives, one of them went into the water, but then I saved a very good par on the 10th hole. And on the 2nd hole, I sent it into the bunker.

Although I played very well, the putts weren't going in, I hit a lot of edges, ties... one of those days, but I had a very good attitude and when I got into trouble I didn't give up, I kept fighting and in the end I got my reward.

Being three strokes away from a medal on this course, with 36 holes to go, is nothing, so we're going to fight hard these next few days to hopefully make it happen.

It's truly a pleasure to watch Inbee Park play, and there's so much to learn from her. I love playing with her because she's always so patient, never gets flustered, and that's why she plays so well.

Hope is not lost until it's too late, so yes, let's go for it, and I hope you have a good weekend.»

Carlota Ciganda (22nd place; 72 strokes today (+1); -3 overall)

“The truth is that the second hole was very tough. To begin with, making an eight there puts you at +5 in two holes, but I had to keep fighting. I don't know what happened to me. I didn't start comfortably, but then I woke up, started playing well, and the balance is good; in 34 holes I'm at -9.”.

Actually, they were two bad holes and you can't make many on this course, so if I have a good round tomorrow, I can be there.

It was less windy today, but the course was a bit different and we might have gotten a little confused about our choices, but overall it was easier and I think we'll get good results in the end. With the 15th pin better positioned and the 16th pin short, if you're not having a good round, you might be able to improve things a bit at the end.

I'm calm. I'm playing well, there are two days left, and although we have to attack tomorrow and get a -5 or -6 to get back into contention, I feel good.

This is a course where it's important to start well. If you do that on the first nine, you can only score a few. Then there are holes 11 through 14, and even 15, which are mostly pars, and then you can also attack the last few holes and scrape off a par or two…

The thing is, it's golf and anything can happen on a course where if you miss fairways you can get into trouble.