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Scottie Scheffler won the men’s golf gold medal on Sunday in his first Olympic Games, beating Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood by one stroke.
The American world number one shot a course-record-tying 62 at the National Golf Club to beat silver medalist Fleetwood at 19 under for his seventh win of the year.
“It was really emotional sitting on the podium and listening to the national anthem,” Scheffler said. “It’s been a long week. It’s been a challenging week. I played great golf today.”
After a tight race with several players competing for medals, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama won the bronze medal at 17 under par.
Jon Rahm led by four shots after 10 holes but fell far behind and was tied for fifth with Rory McIlroy, whose hopes were dashed by a double bogey on the 15th hole.
“I did it with my own hands. What it means for Spain and what the consequences could be makes it all the more painful,” Lahm said.
Defending champion Xander Schauffele was tied for the lead with Rahm but dropped out of contention after finishing three over on the back nine.
“It’s terrible. I’m not happy about it, to be honest with you,” the PGA Championship and British Open champion said. “Obviously, not a lot of positives came out of it.”
Victor Perez of France delighted the home fans by racing through the field at breakneck speed, but despite a 63 that included four straight birdies and an eagle in five holes, he still finished fourth.
Scheffler continued his stellar season with a strong fourth-round performance to win his second Masters and Players Championship titles.
He was six shots behind the leader on the back nine, but in the second half he shot six-under 29 as players behind him, especially Rahm, struggled.
– Rahm’s lead was reversed –
Rahm birdied six of the first 10 holes to take a comfortable four-shot lead and seemed set to win the title with ease.
But consecutive bogeys, coupled with Fleetwood’s consecutive birdies, made the Spaniard’s advantage disappear.
Scheffler, McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Perez all seized their opportunities to charge into contention, and when the final group entered the final five holes, the top six players on the leaderboard were separated by just two strokes.
Ireland’s McIlroy blinked first when he hit a close-range shot into the water on the 15th hole, nearly ending his championship dreams.
Rahm then suffered a double bogey on the par-5 14th hole, which again severely affected his score.
Perez narrowly missed long birdie putts on the final two greens, but after a stellar back-nine 29, he set his clubhouse goal at 16 under, which drew cheers from the entire Albatros course.
Scheffler had already made three straight birdies earlier in the day, and despite hitting the rough on his tee shot, he made his fourth straight birdie on the 17th hole to take the solo lead for the first time.
He made safe par on the final hole to reach 19 under, a score Fleetwood matched with a spectacular birdie on the 16th.
But the Englishman lost a stroke on the 17th hole with a clumsy chip and needed a birdie on the final hole to enter the playoff.
Fleetwood was unable to muster another strong performance late in the race and suffered another near-miss in his career, while Scheffler celebrated his victory on the practice field.
“Of course, there’s a part of me that’s disappointed, but at the same time, I never dreamed I’d be an Olympic medalist,” Fleetwood said. “I’m still incredibly proud and happy.”
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