World number 1 Scottie Scheffler produced a spectacular final round 9-under 62 at Le Golf National, equaling the course record and emerging from a star-studded leaderboard to win gold at the Olympic men’s golf competition.
The American was flawless from start to finish, reaching 19-under 265 as he surged to victory, highlighted by an impressive back-nine 29.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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