Olympic golf has become a little more golf after Sunday’s glory at Le Golf National. The battle for medals was an exciting challenge for the world’s best players, the internal wars in the sport forgotten, providing a final day worthy of any Grand Slam tournament. Olympic golf is no longer a ghost, it has earned the credit for having a place on any fan’s agenda, unimaginable until now.
The story could have been very different and ended with an unexpected plot, even if the gold medal hung around the neck of a normal guy, Scottie Scheffler, world number one and winner of six tournaments before landing at Versailles this year.
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Scheffler equals the course record (62) at Le Golf National to win the tournament
Scheffler, who had been flying under the radar all week, shot 62, and equaled the record of the always demanding course designed by Von Hague, which allowed him to overtake all his rivals and climb to the top of the podium. But it is impossible to understand his victory without the unprecedented collapse of Jon Rahm in the second round, which destroyed all his chances not only to win gold, but to win a medal. He had to settle for a diploma when he had gold in his hands. An absolute drama.
The lion of Barrika had signed an Olympic tournament in which he was clearly going for more. A trend that was confirmed in the first part of the final day, in which it looked as if he had been touched by a stick. He got up to six birdies in the first ten holes of the course, a display of game that put him four strokes ahead with eight holes remaining, he had the gold in his hands and Rahm is not one of those who usually let opportunities slip away. But then he collapsed without anyone noticing and his rivals, who were among the fifteen best in the world, attacked – the classification was as scary as it aroused passions.
Scheffler’s birdies were joined by those of the magical Fleetwood and the somewhat blunt Matsuyama, who took the putt for silver and bronze, respectively. Meanwhile, Rahm strung together a string of poor swings that cost him dearly, such as the double bogey on the 14th hole that saw almost all of his metal options disappear. It went from nothing to nothing.
