SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — It’s difficult to forget about Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, when he’s on the golf course, but Sunday, it seemed, was over by midafternoon. The Olympic men’s golf competition was in the hands of Jon Rahm. A four-shot lead with seven holes to go. Get the medal ready.
But Scheffler was out there at Le Golf National. And the gold medal wasn’t around anyone’s neck yet.
Behind a back-nine 6-under 29, the world’s best player added to his résumé with a brilliant and defiant 9-under 62 to become only the third male to win an individual gold medal for the United States in these Games.
Scheffler’s final round matched the Le Golf National course record, and edged out England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who was in a first-place tie with Scheffler down the stretch before bogeying the 17th hole and then playing it safe on the difficult 18th.
In the battle for bronze, Japan’s Hideki Matsuayama shot a final-round 65 to finish at 17-under-par, two shots behind Scheffler and one behind Fleetwood. Frenchman Victor Perez shot a back-nine 29 to storm back from the pack, but finished one stroke away from having a chance at a podium finish.
Perhaps Scheffler’s stirring Sunday should come as little surprise. At the Open Championship in Scotland two weeks ago, he spent four rounds seemingly on the cusp of putting together a string of birdies and running away with the tournament. Instead, lip-outs and some short missed putts left him in a seventh-place tie. It was more of the same from Thursday to Saturday this week, but Scheffler still managed to post rounds of 67, 69 and 67, while the likes of Rahm and Open winner Xander Schauffele seemingly took control of the competition.
Instead, the Legend of Scheffler grew larger. The 29-year-old has now won two of the last three Masters and 14 times in his last 59 starts, and posted an additional 20 top-five-finishes. The scary part, for everyone else out there, is he’s seemingly getting better. Scheffler has won seven of his last 11 outings, all coming in majors or signature events with limited fields.
Every passing week seems to widen the gap between Scheffler and the rest. Scheffler had birdie putts on Nos. 14, 15 and 16 that were a combined distance of 10 feet, 10 inches and made each of them. On No. 17 he had a difficult second shot out of the rough but showed off his next-level iron play to leave himself 17 feet for birdie, pushing himself into the lead.
Now he has a gold medal, becoming the third U.S. male golfer to do so, joining Schauffele in Tokyo 2020 and Charles Sands in 1900, a win also coming in Paris.
For Rahm, Sunday’s meltdown will stick with him for a long time. The entire day at one point felt like a token to his heroes — Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal — who never had Olympic opportunities. Rahm was going to win for Spain and announce his return to his perch among the best in the game. Instead, a four-shot lead was derailed by bogeys at 11 and 12 and a string of nervy swings that followed. He posted a double-bogey on the par-5 14th, got one back on 16, and bogeyed 17 to miss out on a chance for bronze.
“I don’t remember the last time I played a tournament and I felt this — I don’t know what the word is because, you know, I not only feel like I let myself down but to just not get it done for the whole country of Spain, it’s a lot more painful than I would like it to be,” Rahm said.
Fleetwood, arguably the best player in golf without a major, had a chance to deliver a career-defining day. Tied for the lead on 17, though, the 33-year-old hit an approach long and faced a daunting chip that he ended up running well past the hole. The bogey dropped him out of a first-place tie. Needing birdie on 18, he hit an approach long left, dashing those chances. He got up and down to secure silver.
Schauffele, who began the day tied for the lead, had a rare off day for him, shooting a 2-over 73 to finish tied for ninth.
The biggest winner this week was perhaps golf as an Olympic sport. Having been wiped off the docket following appearances in the 1900 and 1904 Games, the sport returned in 2016, but struggled to gain even a modicum of momentum. The Rio Games were distant and disconnected, while the 2020 Tokyo Games were played in the throes of a pandemic.
Paris changed the narrative. Massive crowds all three days, genuine Olympic energy, and a star-stacked leaderboard proved the sport has a place in the Games. With the potential of a mixed team play element being added for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, there’s a chance golf can finally catch on and stick. Those 2028 Games will be played at Riviera Country Club.
“I still think that the Ryder Cup is the best tournament that we have in our game, pure competition, and I think this has the potential to be right up there with it. I think with how much of a (expletive) show the game of golf is right now and you think about the two tournaments that might be the purest form of competition in our sport, we don’t play for money in it,” said Rory McIlroy, who tied for fifth.
Required reading
(Top photo of Scottie Scheffler: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
