SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) — Scottie Scheffler was a mannequin of calm and greatness as he delivered the best closing spherical of his profession. The ultimate two hours had been about costs and collapses, pure theater that ended Sunday with the Olympic gold medal fittingly draped across the neck of golf’s No. 1 participant.
It was solely when Scheffler stood on the highest podium, when the ultimate few bars of the nationwide anthem belted out throughout Le Golf Nationwide, that he misplaced management.
The medal dangling beneath his proper hand mounted throughout his chest, Scheffler raised his left arm to cowl the sobs.
Tears are nothing new for Scheffler. His newest trophy introduced out his easiest.
4 photographs behind to start out the ultimate spherical, six photographs behind early on the again 9, Scheffler birdied 5 of six holes down the stretch and matched the course document with a 9-under 62 for a one-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood.
“It’s been an extended week. It’s been a difficult week. I performed some nice golf as we speak, and I’m proud to be going dwelling with a medal,” Scheffler mentioned. “These guys performed large golf and I feel we must always all be happy with the golf that we performed this week.”
It was a show-stopper, the perfect of the three males’s competitions since golf returned to the Olympic program in 2016 earlier than 30,000 spectators that acquired their euros’ price.
The exceptional surge by Scheffler, who shot 29 on the again 9. The relentless play of Fleetwood (66) and Hideki Matsuyama, who had birdie probabilities on the ultimate six holes and needed to accept pars for a 65 to win the bronze.
And there was a shocking collapse by Jon Rahm, who noticed a four-shot lead disappear in two holes and his hopes vanish with a double bogey; by Rory McIlroy, one shot behind till hitting wedge into the water; and by Xander Schauffele, the PGA and British Open champion who had an opportunity to win one other gold till taking part in a four-hole stretch in 4-over par.
To not be missed was Victor Perez of France, who hit the opening tee shot on Thursday and got here inside one shot of a medal on Sunday. He ought to know the lyrics to “La Marseillaise” if he didn’t already. Followers serenaded him on nearly each tee.
All of them had an opportunity throughout this thriller of a again 9.
Ultimately, it was Scheffler — after all — giving the perfect efficiency of his best yr. Already a six-time winner on the PGA Tour this yr, together with his second Masters title, Scheffler added Olympic gold to an astonishing season with a spherical that saved the sellout crowd on edge for a wild conclusion.
He set an Olympic document for 72 holes at 19-under 265.
Scheffler turns into the second straight American to win gold in males’s golf, following Schauffele within the Tokyo Video games.
The one downer was Scheffler successful whereas on the follow vary, mentally spent whereas getting ready for a playoff that didn’t occur when Fleetwood missed the 18th inexperienced properly to the left and his 100-foot pitch simply missed the opening.
It was all such a blur that Scheffler didn’t even know the place he stood.
“I noticed that Rahm had gotten to 20-under, and so I type of modified slightly bit mentally to simply actually attempt to do my greatest to maneuver my means up the leaderboard, and at one level I didn’t even actually know if I used to be in rivalry or not,” Scheffler mentioned.
“I simply tried to do my greatest to make some birdies and begin transferring up and perhaps get a medal or one thing like that simply because Jon is such a fantastic participant.”
When he lastly acquired a take a look at a leaderboard behind the sixteenth inexperienced, Scheffler was within the fairway on the par-4 fifteenth and hit wedge to a foot. That acquired him inside one. Then got here his tee shot to eight toes for birdie on the par-3 seventeenth. And the winner turned out to be an 8-iron he gouged out of the tough to 18 toes for a fourth straight birdie and his first lead of the week.
“He’s been piling up trophies left and proper and he retains transferring away from what’s the pack of individuals chasing him on this planet,” Schauffele mentioned. “Once I take my aggressive hat off and put my USA patriot hat on, I’m very comfortable that we received one other gold medal.”
McIlroy, who ended his tenth straight yr and not using a main, entered the combination when he started the again 9 with 5 straight birdies. He was one off the lead, in the midst of the fifteenth fairway with a wedge in his hand.
“Missed my spot by practically 3 or 4 yards and that ended up costing me a medal,” he mentioned.
However he got here away with a deeper appreciation of the Olympics, particularly within the three years of rising prize cash to fend off the rival LIV Golf league funded by Saudi riches.
“I nonetheless assume that the Ryder Cup is the perfect match that now we have in our recreation, pure competitors, and I feel this has the potential to be proper up there with it,” McIlroy mentioned. “I feel with how a lot of a (expletive) present the sport of golf is correct now and you consider the 2 tournaments that is perhaps the purest type of competitors in our sport, we don’t play for cash in it.”
“It speaks volumes for what’s necessary in sports activities,” he mentioned. “I feel each single participant this week has had a tremendous expertise.”
That begins with Scheffler, who confirmed sheer brilliance together with his greatest rating of the yr, a 62 that matched the perfect closing spherical of his profession. He opened with three straight birdies to get his identify on the board. He had a pair of 12-foot birdies early on the again 9.
After which Scheffler started to soar till he acquired on the rostrum and sobbed. He received The Gamers Championship with a five-shot comeback in March, one other Masters title in April and 4 signature occasions on the PGA Tour towards the strongest fields.
And now an Olympic gold medal.
“It was simply very emotional being up there on stage there because the flag is being raised and sitting there singing the nationwide anthem,” he mentioned. “That’s undoubtedly one I’ll keep in mind for a very long time.”
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AP Summer season Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games