Scottie Scheffler gave the best performance of his amazing year by coming from four shots behind on Sunday with a 9-under 62 to win the Olympic gold medal in men’s golf at Le Golf National.
Scheffler, who has already won six PGA Tour titles this year, including his second Masters, added Olympic gold to his incredible season with a round that kept around 30,000 fans on the edge of their seats during a thrilling final two hours.
The world’s No. 1 player had a lot of help. Jon Rahm from Spain had a four-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood when he reached the 11th tee. Fleetwood caught up to him in just two holes as Rahm had a surprising collapse.
This opened the door for six players, including Victor Perez from France, who was just one shot away from the podium.
But Scheffler took the lead with four straight birdies at the end. A key moment was hitting a shot out of deep rough on the 17th hole and making an 18-foot birdie putt to take the lead for the first time that day.
He set an Olympic record for 72 holes with a score of 19-under 265. Fleetwood, who lost the lead with a bogey from the rough on the 17th, managed to finish with a par on the last hole, shooting a 66 to win the silver medal.
The bronze medal went to Hideki Matsuyama, who was in contention on the back nine but finished with six straight pars for a 65.
Scheffler is the second American in a row to win gold in men’s golf, following Xander Schauffele in the Tokyo Games.
Schauffele was tied for the lead with Rahm after 54 holes but had his own collapse. Rory McIlroy also fell behind, being one shot off the lead until he hit a wedge into the water on the 15th hole.
