Mariajo Uribe wanted to retire at the Olympics. A medal would be best way to go out

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, Scotland (AP) — The plan for Mariajo Uribe of Colombia was to get to the Olympics one last time — that was the hard part — so she could retire the way she wanted and spend time with her husband and son. Once she made it to the Paris Games, she knew Saturday would be her last round.

Only now there's a new and wonderful wrinkle to these best laid plans.

Imagine the 34-year-old Uribe standing on the podium, proudly decked in so many Colombian colors that she even has blue, yellow and red on her golf shoes.

“No matter what happens, it's going to be an emotional day,” Uribe said. “But right now, I feel calm and excited for it.”

There was only a tinge of disappointment Friday afternoon when she dropped two shots coming in for a 1-under 71. An hour earlier, she had been part of a four-way tie for the lead with Lydia Ko, Morgane Metraux and Rose Zhang.

She ended the day four shots off the lead — two shots away from a chance at a medal.

“If anything, I'm an underdog this week, no one expecting me to win a medal,” Uribe said. The women's world ranking bears that out. She is at No. 196.

“Disappointed the last couple holes, but I’m glad I’m coming not from the last group but on the other groups, and try to put a number out there,” she said. “But right now, after all these years, I just know that I want to enjoy it and see what happens.”

She speaks with the same energy with which she plays — upbeat, aggressive, eyes dancing, emotions on her sleeve, fearless. And there is pure joy in everything she does, even taking a Colombian flag to unfurl as she was introduced on the first tee Friday.

At least she is at the Paris Games.

The original plan for Uribe, whose lone LPGA Tour title was unofficial in Brazil in 2011, was to retire after the Tokyo Games. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Uribe became pregnant and she was dealing with postpartum at Kasumigaseki Country Club. That was no way to end.

Getting back? That seemed unlikely without top LPGA status that allowed her a full schedule. Uribe was so desperate to get to the Olympics that she was willing to go anywhere and play any tour, even on a Ladies European Tour development circuit. It was all about ranking points.

The payoff came when she wrote for and received an exemption to the New South Wales Women's Open in Australia at the end of March, just three months before Olympic qualifying ended. And she won.

The victory moved her from No. 474 in the world to No. 217. Coming from a small golf country like Colombia, that assured her one last trip to the Olympics.

A medal is a dream. A gold is beyond that.

Uribe was so demonstrative on the golf course — twisting with body language over so many shots, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before putts — that it looked as though she was wanting it too badly. But she has been doing this too long to know better.

“I think after 15 years, I know win or lose it’s going to be the same tomorrow. I’m going to be the same person and it’s not going to change my life that much — especially being the last tournament, it’s not like it’s going to change my career or anything," she said with a laugh.

Uribe is the only player from Latin America to win the U.S. Women's Amateur, winning in 2007 at Crooked Stick in Indiana. A year later, she was low amateur at the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen when she tied for 10th. The rest of the road hasn't been easy, but it's been a blast.

For Uribe, it was all about the Olympics.

“The Olympics are such a big deal back home. My friends never come to watch me at a tournament and they are all here,” she said.

One more day. One last push. She plans to be aggressive to the very end.

“It's third or nothing, really,” she said. "Fourth place means nothing this week. That’s why I’ve been hitting a lot of drivers and playing aggressive and it's the kind of play that I like and the course sets up for it. It can go really good or really bad.

“It’s going to be exciting,” she said, “and hopefully we put on a good show tomorrow.”

___

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games