Scottie Scheffler produced a spectacular 9-under 62 at Le Golf National on Sunday, equalling the course record and emerging from a star-studded leaderboard to win gold at the Olympic men’s golf competition.
On a thrilling final day in the outskirts of Paris, the American was flawless from start to finish, reaching 19-under 265 as he surged to victory, highlighted by an impressive back-nine 29 to underline his status as the world No.1.
Tommy Fleetwood of Great Britain fell just short of emulating Rio 2016 gold medalist Justin Rose as a closing 66 saw him settle for silver, one shot behind at 18-under. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama rounded out the podium finishers with bronze, finishing a shot further back.
Frenchman Victor Perez delighted the home crowd with a brilliant final-round 63 to finish solo fourth at 16-under, with Rory McIlroy of Ireland and Spain’s Jon Rahm sharing fifth at 15-under.
Scheffler trailed overnight co-leaders Xander Schauffele – who was targeting back-to-back golds – and Rahm by four shots but showed his pedigree to follow up a fast start with an electric finish that included a run of four straight birdies from Nos. 14-17.
The victory is Scheffler’s seventh title of what has been a remarkable year, which already included his successful title defense of THE PLAYERS Championship and his second green jacket at the Masters Tournament in April.
Fleetwood held a share of the lead with Scheffler on the 17th tee, but a miscued chip shot from behind the green led to a bogey and proved costly as he was unable to find a birdie at the last to force a playoff.
Matsuyama, who held a share of the halfway lead, lost ground on Saturday with a level-par 71, but he bounced back in style with a bogey-free 65 to medal in his second Olympics.
Earlier in the day, Rahm seemed on track to win gold for Spain as he opened up a four-shot lead around the turn, but back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th thwarted his momentum. A double bogey-7 at the 14th further hurt his hopes before he missed out on the podium altogether with back-to-back bogeys on his final two holes.
McIlroy finished alongside his Ryder Cup teammate after a spirited closing 66, with a double bogey at the 15th when he found water with his approach ultimately ending his chance of a medal.
For all the scores from the Olympic men’s golf event, visit www.igfgolf.org/olympic-games/2024/mens-scoring
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