Scottie Scheffler added a gold medal to an amazing 2024 season that has already included a second green jacket with a win at the Masters. Scheffler won the men's individual stroke play golf tournament at the Paris Olympics' Le Golf National course with a wild final round on Sunday.
Scheffler scored a -9 under final round of 62 on Sunday to catapult himself onto the top of the podium. He finished -19 under par. Scheffler would birdie holes 1, 2, 3, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 for an exciting final round.
He set an Olympic record for 72 holes at 19-under 265. Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood, who fell out of the lead with a bogey from the rough on the 17th, got up-and-down for par on the final hole for a 66 to win the silver medal.
Scheffler was visibly emotional during the medal ceremony as the national anthem played, appearing to wipe away tears in his eyes.
"I'm not big on comparisons or anything like that," Scheffler said when asked by NBC Olympics where this ranks among his accomplishments. "I'm just going to enjoy this moment. Like I said, I take tremendous pride in representing my country and I'm very proud to be going home, to be going back to the USA with a medal."
Hideki Matsuyama (-17) won the bronze. France's Victor Perez (-16) finished fourth, just off the podium. Ireland's Rory McIlroy (-15) and Spain's John Rahm (-15) finished tied for fifth.
USA's Xander Schauffele, who won the gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finished tied for ninth at -12. Wyndham Clark (-11) tied for 14th and Colin Morikawa (-5) finished tied at 24th.
Schauffele was tied for the 54-hole lead with Rahm until he had a collapse of his own. So did Rory McIlroy, one off the lead until hitting wedge into the water on the 15th hole.
Scheffler is currently ranked number one in the world and is well positioned to win player of the year. He has six PGA wins in 2024, including winning the Masters (his second win in Augusta), the Memorial, the RBC Heritage, the Players Championship, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Scheffler is the first golfer to win six times on the PGA tour in a single season since Tiger Woods in 2009.
All four golf majors also went to a player from the United States.
"It was a pretty cool experience, it was very special," Scheffler said. "Like I said, representing your country is amazing. Putting on the flag every morning is a pretty humbling experience. Going out here and doing our best. It was definitely a fun experience, it was really cool to go see the other events. I'm proud to be going home with a medal."
Scottie Scheffler was born in Dallas, Texas, but when he was six, his family moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey, where he spend most of his childhood, according to NBC Olympics. Scheffler went to the University of Texas.
Olympic Golf
Scottie Scheffler delivered the best performance of his greatest year by rallying from four shots behind on Sunday with a 9-under 62 to win the Olympic gold medal in men's golf in a thriller at Le Golf National.
Already a six-time winner on the PGA TOUR this year, including his second Masters title, Scheffler added Olympic gold to an astonishing season with a round that kept some 30,000 fans on edge for a wild final two hours.
The world's No. 1 player had plenty of help. Jon Rahm of Spain had a four-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood when he stepped on the 11th tee. Fleetwood caught him in two holes as the Spaniard had a stunning collapse.
That opened the door for six players — including Victor Perez of France, who came within one shot of the podium.
But it was Scheffler who charged to the front with four straight birdies down the stretch, none bigger than gouging a shot out of deep rough on the 17th hole and making the 18-foot birdie putt to take the lead for the first time all day.
He set an Olympic record for 72 holes at 19-under 265. Fleetwood, who fell out of the lead with a bogey from the rough on the 17th, got up-and-down for par on the final hole for a 66 to win the silver medal. The bronze went to Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, in the mix on the back nine until closing with six straight pars for a 65.
A Thrilling Back Nine
Schauffele was tied for the 54-hole lead with Rahm until he had a collapse of his own, falling back with a bogey on the 12th from deep rough and another on the 13th, when another shot out of the high grass went into the water. He shot 73 and tied for ninth.
“He's been piling up trophies left and right and he keeps moving away from what is the pack of people chasing him in the world,” Schauffele said. “When I take my competitive hat off and put my USA patriot hat on, I’m very happy that we won another gold medal.”
Rory McIlroy of Ireland entered the mix when he began the back nine with five straight birdies. He was one off the lead, in the middle of the 15th fairway with a wedge in his hand. That's where it all went wrong.
He came up short and into the water, taking double bogey and ending his hopes. He had to settle for three pars and a 66 to tie for fifth with Rahm.
Scheffler's Brilliant Finish
Scheffler was sheer brilliance with his best score of the year, a 62 that matched the best closing round of his career. He opened with three straight birdies to get his name on the board. He had a pair of 12-foot birdies early on the back nine.
And then Scheffler soared — a tough up-and-down for birdie on the 14th, a wedge to a foot for a tap-in birdie on the 15th, a tee shot to 8 feet on the par-3 16th to tie for the lead. And then a rare show of emotion when his 18-foot birdie putt fell on the 17th.
That proved to be the winner when Fleetwood, who birdied the 16th to tie for the lead, put his tee shot in the same thick rough Scheffler had found earlier. Fleetwood's shot came out hot and over the green, and the best he could do was pitch 20 feet by the hole.
The consolation was the silver, the second men's golf medal for Great Britain since golf returned to the Olympics in 2016. Justin Rose won the gold in Rio de Janeiro.
A Tearful Victory
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France -- Scottie Scheffler was a model of calm Sunday as he delivered the greatest closing round of his career. The final two hours were about charges and collapses, pure theater that ended with the Olympic gold medal fittingly draped around the neck of golf's No. 1 player.
It was only when Scheffler stood on the top podium, when the final few bars of the national anthem belted out across Le Golf National, that he lost control.
The medal dangling beneath his right hand fixed across his chest, Scheffler raised his left arm to cover the sobs.
Tears are nothing new for Scheffler. His latest trophy brought out his very best.
Four shots behind to start the final round, six shots behind early on the back nine, Scheffler birdied five of six holes down the stretch and matched the course record with a 9-under 62 for a one-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood.
"It's been a long week. It's been a challenging week. I played some great golf today, and I'm proud to be going home with a medal," Scheffler said. "These guys played tremendous golf, and I think we should all be proud of the golf that we played this week."
It was a showstopper, the best of the three men's competitions since golf returned to the Olympic program in 2016 before 30,000 spectators that got their euros' worth.
The remarkable surge by Scheffler, who shot 29 on the back nine. The relentless play of Fleetwood (66) and Hideki Matsuyama, who had birdie chances on the final six holes and had to settle for pars for a 65 to win the bronze.
And there was a stunning collapse by Jon Rahm, who saw a four-shot lead disappear in two holes and his hopes vanish with a double bogey; by Rory McIlroy, one shot behind until hitting wedge into the water; and by Xander Schauffele, the PGA and British Open champion who had a chance to win another gold until playing a four-hole stretch in 4-over par.
Not to be overlooked was Victor Perez of France, who hit the opening tee shot Thursday and came within one shot of a medal on Sunday. He should know the lyrics to "La Marseillaise" if he didn't already. Fans serenaded him on just about every tee.
All of them had a chance during this thriller of a back nine.
In the end, it was Scheffler -- of course -- giving the best performance of his greatest year. Already a six-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, including his second Masters title, Scheffler added Olympic gold to an astonishing season with a round that kept the sellout crowd on edge for a wild conclusion.
He set an Olympic record for 72 holes at 19-under 265.
Scheffler becomes the second straight American to win gold in men's golf, following Schauffele in the Tokyo Games.
The only downer was Scheffler winning while on the practice range, mentally spent while preparing for a playoff that didn't happen when Fleetwood missed the 18th green well to the left and his 100-foot pitch just missed the hole.
It was all such a blur that Scheffler didn't even know where he stood.
"I saw that Rahm had gotten to 20-under, and so I kind of changed a little bit mentally to just really try to do my best to move my way up the leaderboard, and at one point I didn't even really know if I was in contention or not," Scheffler said.
"I just tried to do my best to make some birdies and start moving up and maybe get a medal or something like that just because Jon is such a great player."
When he finally got a look at a leaderboard behind the 16th green, Scheffler was in the fairway on the par-4 15th and hit wedge to a foot. That got him within one. Then came his tee shot to 8 feet for birdie on the par-3 17th. And the winner turned out to be an 8-iron he gouged out of the rough to 18 feet for a fourth straight birdie and his first lead of the week.
"He's been piling up trophies left and right, and he keeps moving away from what is the pack of people chasing him in the world," Schauffele said. "When I take my competitive hat off and put my USA patriot hat on, I'm very happy that we won another gold medal."
Rahm missed a meaningless par putt on the final hole for a 39 on the back nine, leaving him two shots from winning a bronze, four shots behind Scheffler.
"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.
"I think by losing today, I'm getting a much deeper appreciation of what this tournament means to me than if I had won any medal," he said. "I'm getting a taste of how much it really mattered. I've been very honored to represent Spain in many, many different events, and to not get this one done stings quite a bit."
McIlroy, who ended his 10th straight year without a major, entered the mix when he began the back nine with five straight birdies. He was one off the lead, in the middle of the 15th fairway with a wedge in his hand.
"Missed my spot by nearly 3 or 4 yards and that ended up costing me a medal," he said.
But he came away with a deeper appreciation of the Olympics, especially in the three years of rising prize money to fend off the rival LIV Golf league funded by Saudi riches.
"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," McIlroy said. "I think with how much of a s--- 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."
"It speaks volumes for what's important in sports," he said. "I think every single player this week has had an amazing experience."
That starts with Scheffler, who showed sheer brilliance with his best score of the year, a 62 that matched the best closing round of his career. He opened with three straight birdies to get his name on the board. He had a pair of 12-foot birdies early on the back nine.
And then Scheffler began to soar until he got on the podium and sobbed. He won The Players Championship with a five-shot comeback in March, another Masters title in April and four signature events on the PGA Tour against the strongest fields.
And now an Olympic gold medal.
"It was just very emotional being up there on stage there as the flag is being raised and sitting there singing the national anthem," he said. "That's definitely one I'll remember for a long time."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
