Scottie steals gold at the Olympics

It was an exciting leaderboard after three rounds, with two of the best, American Xander Schauffele and Spain’s Jon Rahm on top, followed closely by the who’s who of world golf.

While the cast of very best may not be complete due to the qualifying rules which had limits per country and with LIV players not getting much world ranking points, the Paris Olympic field had more than enough firepower. I can only think of DeChambeau and Koepka as possible winners who were not in the field.

As the final round commenced, everyone took advantage of the opening holes to get a few birdies in. This resulted in an even more crowded leaderboard.

But as the leaders teed off, they, too made their share of putts and again put a bit of room between them and the chasing pack. The final flight was composed of joint leaders Xander Schauffele and John Rahm, with Tommy Fleetwood who was a shot behind.

The chasing pack included World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Ludvig Aberg, among others who were within five shots of the leaders.

While players like Scheffler and Tom Kim made a go for it early on, Rahm made his share of birdies too. After 9 holes, the Spaniard was at -19, with Fleetwood and Matsuyama as the closest pursuers 3 shots back. Schauffele dropped a shot at the 8th to finish the front at -15, a sizeable four shots back of the lead.

Rahm’s back 9 started with another birdie, seemingly pushing the dagger further into his pursuers. On a day when the front 9 averaged a little better than 1 under par, Rahm made the turn at -5.

Defending Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele actually matched Rahm for the first few holes before two more Rahm birdies on 6 and 7 created space and Schauffele’s bogey on the eighth made him trail even further back.

Xander had plenty of chances in the back, after Rahm’s bogeys on the 11th and 12th. But instead of capitalizing, Schauffele made his own bogeys, effectively ending his chances of defending his gold medal in the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Rory McIlroy played decent, but was just too far behind starting the day four shots back. Rory seems to be playing as a top five player, consistently a few shots back from being able to pull a major win off. His unfortunate US Open finish could still be hanging over his head, adding to his frustration of not winning a major since 2014.

That’s 10 years of being at the very top of the game, without injuries, and still not getting another major. It seems like Rory’s head gets in the way of his prodigious swing. Rahm’s misfortunes at the back gave Rory a legitimate shot, but an aggressive approach at the 15th landed short into the water and gone were his chances.

Tommy Fleetwood has been close to breaking through a lot lately. Like Schauffele who until this year has played very well in majors without winning one, Tommy has also been in the hunt quite often.

While an Olympic gold isn’t a major in the traditional sense, he is close enough to Rahm to make things interesting. After Rahm’s uncharacteristic three-putt bogey on the short 11th, Fleetwood just stood two shots back with seven holes to play.

But golf can test even the steadiest player. Rahm seemed on his way to the top of the podium after his birdie on the 10th. The 11th and 12th though dampened an otherwise stellar round. On the 12th, Tommy drained a birdie against another Rahm bogey, levelling the match at -18.

This brought the leaders a lot closer to the chasing pack, ensuring a tight finish to the men’s Olympic golf battles. Le Golf National’s back 9 played more difficult than the front, and with six holes remaining, it was still anyone’s gold to grab.

A little further from the lead, Frenchman Victor Perez gave the locals something to cheer about, making birdies coming in, inching closer to the lead. Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama led the Asian contingents with steady, mistake-free golf. He has been at or near the lead most of the week and a few good breaks and drained putts were all that stood in the way of Olympic glory. Unfortunately for Hideki, missed birdie putts down the stretch cost him the win.

Le Golf National’s main defenses are its rough and water hazards lurking all around. With the back 9 playing difficult, making a run coming home is close to impossible — unless of course, you’re Scottie Scheffler!

When everyone was trying to do damage control, Scottie played lights-out golf, making six birdies in the back. When those at or close to the lead were faltering or shooting one or two under, Scottie raced to the lead, finishing at -19, waiting for the last flights to come in. Scottie’s final round 62 will surely be remembered as one of the best finishes in golf.

This brought the leaders a lot closer to the chasing pack, ensuring a tight finish to the men’s Olympic golf battles.

Joining Scheffler at 19 under was Tommy Fleetwood, playing solid down the stretch when his flight mates Rahm and Schauffele made a mess of things at the back. Tied at the top with 2 difficult holes to go, Tommy needed steady nerves to hold on.

Of course, going for broke and chasing a birdie would make him a legend, but two pars should do it and just take his chances in sudden death. But unfortunately, Tommy made bogey at the 17th after both his second and third shots had too much juice. Needing birdie at the treacherous 18th to tie Scheffler, another approach over the green meant that birdie was a remote possibility.

In the end, the World No.1 peaked at the right time, snatching the gold when no one was looking. His final round 62 was a display not only of great golf, but of tenacity. Scheffler was as many as six shots off Rahm’s lead heading into the back 9.

While Scottie got some help from the faltering leaders, shooting 9-under on a difficult course in the final round deserves a medal. In the end, it was Scheffler’s gold, Fleetwood’s silver and Matsuyama’s bronze.