2024 Summer Olympics: Men’s golf winners and losers, including gold medalist Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler was four shots back of the leaders entering the final round. He needed to have a good round to get into medal contention. However, he did not play good. He played great. Scheffler made three straight birdies to begin his final round. Then on the back nine, he got hot. Scheffler made six birdies in an eight-hole stretch, including four straight from the par-5 14^th to the par-4 17^th. On the 17th hole, Scheffler made a 17-foot birdie putt up the hill to get to 19-under par to eventually become the first World No. 1 to win the gold medal. As a result, the Olympic gold medal will continue to be owned by an American.  

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As Scheffler was making his run on the back nine, Jon Rahm was going in the opposite direction. Despite a front nine 5-under 31 and at 20-under par after making birdie at the 10^th, things went downhill. Rahm, who had a three-shot lead, then shot 5-over par the rest of the way, to not only lose the gold medal, but to not even medal at all. He had a back nine 29 to shot 1-under 70 in the final round. His final round was similar to Rory McIlroy’s at the U.S. Open a couple months ago. The collapse was too much to handle despite having a chance to make the podium.   

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In the final grouping, featuring Rahm, Xander Schauffele, and Tommy Fleetwood, it was Fleetwood who played the best, shooting a 5-under 66. That kept him in medal contention. However, a bogey on the par-4 17^th hurt his chances of winning and achieving a gold medal. Fleetwood, though, still brings home a silver medal for Great Britain.

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Hideki Matsuyama came up just short three years ago when the Summer Olympics were held in his home country of Japan. This time, Matsuyama was able to be one stroke better than losing out on a medal, shooting 17-under par to claim the bronze medal. Despite an even par 71 in the third round, Matsuyama shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 to take the final medal. He became the first player from Japan to earn a medal in men’s golf.   

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It was not the week Collin Morikawa was hoping for. Despite shooting under par for all four rounds, he was unable to score low enough to compete. Morikawa had three 1-under 70 rounds, in addition to a 3-under 68 in the second round. If he wanted to be in medal contention, like he was in Tokyo, he needed the 6-under rounds and the 5-under rounds. Morikawa made 52 pars compared to just 14 birdies.  

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Although Victor Perez did not medal, he had an Olympics to remember competing in his home country. As each round progressed, Perez got better finishing his final round with a bogey-free 8-under 63. That included making par on the first five holes.  However, he caught fire on the back nine with five straight holes of either a birdie or an eagle. Perez birdied 12, 13, 15 and 16 sandwiched with an eagle on 14 for a 29 on the back nine. Furthermore, he was able to have this special final round in front of his home crowd. It was definitely a week that he will never forget.

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Rory McIlroy did not quite earn a medal, but still played strong as each round progressed, like Perez. McIlroy shot 5-under 66 in his final two rounds to finish tied for fifth. He had an opportunity to contend for a medal in the final round by making five straight birdies to begin his final round. However, all the momentum went away on the par-4 15^th when he went into the water, resulting in a double bogey. It was definitely a solid week for McIlroy and one to remember, despite not being on the podium.  

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The highest ranked Frenchman in the field had the chance to have an unforgettable week. However, it did not go that way for Matthieu Pavon. He did not get under par in any of the four rounds and shot 13-over across his 72 holes of competition. His Saturday round also did hot help, shooting a 6-over 77 when he double bogeyed the 12^th and finished bogey-triple bogey on his final two holes.

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It was another week of figuring out what has not gone right for Viktor Hovland this season. Although he finished with a 7-under par over his final two rounds, Hovland’s early struggles held him back from contending for a medal. He shot a 1-under 70 on Thursday and a 4-over 75 on Friday. The biggest hole that beat Holand was the par-4 18^th, the most difficult hole of the week. He double bogeyed that hole on Thursday and Saturday, in addition to a bogey today and a par on Friday.  

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This was the first time golf had the opportunity to have fans in attendance at the Olympics in eight years. As a result, more than 30,000 people each day made their way out to Le Golf National to witness the best players in the world compete, not for money, but for pride and their respective country. The galleries turned their eyes to the home crowd favorite in Perez or some of the other stars, including the medalists, as well as Rahm, Schauffele, McIlroy, Tom Kim, and Jason Day.

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