American Scottie Scheffler came away with the gold medal In a drama-filled final round of Olympic golf on Sunday at Le Golf National, outside of Paris.
The win marks Scheffler’s seventh victory in 2024, with the 28-year-old celebrating his triumph like many of his others on the PGA Tour this season — on the driving range awaiting a playoff that never came.
The win is the second straight gold for the U.S. in men's golf, with two-time major winner Xander Schauffele topping the podium in the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games.
Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood landed a silver medal with a 5-under 66, while Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama rounded out the podium with bronze following a final-round 65. Spain’s Jon Rahm ended his round in a tie for fifth after dropping six shots on the back nine.
Scheffler, the world No.1 on the PGA Tour, started his Sunday in a tie for fourth, but a bogey-free 9-under 62 helped him bulldoze his way to the top of the standings as things started to become murky at the top of the leaderboard.
Rahm appeared to have the gold medal in his back pocket standing over the 11th tee, having birdied six of his opening 10 holes and holding a four-shot lead over his nearest chasers.
Playing alongside Rahm throughout the final round, Fleetwood helped turn the tournament on its head as the Spaniard began to unravel over the back nine.
A pair of birdie putts on Nos. 11 and 12 helped Fleetwood shift a four-shot deficit into a tie with the lead as Rahm began to cool off and let the rest of the field swoop in.
From there, the Englishman turned his sights to Scheffler, who birdied four consecutive holes to perch himself atop the leaderboard and set up a battle with Fleetwood for the tournament’s top prize.
The two appeared bound for a playoff if Fleetwood could follow in Scheffler’s footsteps and tame the two hardest holes on the property in Nos. 17 and 18. Instead, Fleetwood overshot the 17th green on his approach shot and proceeded to three-putt for a bogey to drop him into second place.
Chasers Rory McIlroy of Ireland and Frenchman Victor Perez captivated the French crowd with rounds of 66 and 63 respectively to give themselves a chance of a podium finish. McIlroy made a charge on the back nine with five consecutive birdies before being derailed by his water-soaked tee shot on the 15th.
Perez on the other hand flirted with a course record 61, due in large part to a five-hole stretch that saw him collect four birdies and an eagle from his red-hot putter.
Representing South Korea, Tom Kim finished his Olympic Games with a final-round 68 but could not barge his way into a medal ceremony. A podium finish would have guaranteed Kim an exemption from 18 months of mandatory military service in his home country.
On the Canadian front, Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., shot a bogey-free final round of 66 to power his way into a tie for ninth. Fellow Canadian Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., carded a 2-under 69 after struggling to get his game into top gear throughout the week.
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