New Zealand’s Lydia Ko stood up when it mattered during the final round at Le Golf National, claiming the gold medal with a nerveless performance in the final hour as many of her challengers came undone.
Beginning the day tied for the lead with Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux at nine-under, Ko opened up a five-stroke advantage after a steady, rather than spectacular, front nine as her competitors wilted around her.
Metraux’s hope were dashed with a triple bogy on the fifth hole while American Nelly Korda, China’s Ruoning Yin and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita all threatening briefly before imploding early on the back nine.
However, Ko made things interesting when she dropped a water ball into the pond protecting the 13th green, making a double bogey just as Germany’s Esther Henseleit was surging.
Holding a one-stroke lead with two holes to play, Ko found the fairway off the tee at the tricky 17th and made a comfortable par then played it safe down the par 5 18th, laying up with her second shot.
She wedged her third to seven feet and made the birdie putt to finish at 10-under, beating Henseleit by two shots to claim the gold medal. China’s Xiyu Lin won the bronze medal after finishing alone at seven-under. Australia’s Hannah Green finished tied fourth at six-under.
Ko’s win saw her complete the full set of Olympic medals, having won silver in Tokyo and bronze in Rio. The win also secured the 27-year-old’s entry into the LPGA’s Hall of Fame.
FINAL WOMEN’S SCORES
- 1 Lydia Ko -10
- 2 Esther Henseleit -8
- 3 Xiyu Lin -7
- T4 Hannah Green -6
- T4 Bianca Pagdanganan -6
- T4 Amy Yang -6
- T4 Miyu Yamashita
- T8 Wei-Ling Hsu -5
- T8 Rose Zhang -5
- T10 Maya Stark -4
- T10 Ruoning Yin -4
- T10 Mariajo Uribe -4
AUSTRALIANS
- T4 Hannah Green -6
- T22 Minjee Lee -1
American World No.1 Scottie Scheffler swooped late with a stunning Sunday charge to win the men’s Olympic gold medal amid an electric atmosphere at Le Golf National in Paris.
Scheffler shot a course record-equalling nine-under 62 in the final round to reach 19-under and beat Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood by a shot. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama claimed the bronze medal at 17-under.
Beginning the day four strokes off the lead held by countryman Xander Schauffele and Spain’s Jon Rahm, Scheffler got off to a hot start with birdies at his first two holes.
However, Rahm’s six-birdie stretch in his first 10 holes saw him open up a four-stroke margin that seemingly had the rest of the field competing for the minor placings.
But the back nine saw the tournament flip almost unthinkably in the most compelling two-hour burst of golf this year.
Scheffler would come up clutch, making five birdies to storm home in just 29 strokes — 10 strokes better than Rahm, who wilted in an error-strewn, bogey-filled back nine nightmare.
Scheffler’s brilliant birdie at the 17 th hole proved to be decisive. Muscling an approach out of thick rough, Scheffler unleashed massive “C’mon” after burying the ensuing 20 foot putt — a surprising show of emotion for the normally docile American.
Playing in the final group, Fleetwood would bogey the same hole and couldn’t muster the birdie needed at the difficult 18 th hole to match Scheffler’s score.
France’s Victor Perez shot a brilliant 63 to finish one shot out of the medals while Rory McIlroy and Rahm were both a stroke further adrift.
The Women's Olympic tournament begins on Wednesday.
FINAL MEN’S SCORES
- 1 Scottie Scheffler -19
- 2 Tommy Fleetwood -18
- 3 Hideki Matsuyama -17
- 4 Victor Perez -16
- T5 Rory McIlroy -15
- T5 Jon Rahm -15
- 7 Nicolai Hojgaard -14
- 8 Tom Kim -13
- T9 Corey Conners -12
- T9 Jason Day -12
- T9 Joaquin Niemann -12
- T9 Thomas Detry -12
- T9 Xander Schauffele -12
AUSTRALIANS
- T9 Jason Day -12
- T22 Min Woo Lee -7
The Americans look formidable, the French will be desperate for a result on home soil while the Aussies are keeping it in the family. Who will claim the gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics? We can’t wait to find out!
When do the Paris Olympic golf tournaments begin?
The men’s tournament runs from August 1-4. There’s a two-day break before the women’s event kicks off August 7-10. Both events are 72-hole stroke play tournaments played at the Le Golf National course. Fields are capped at 60 players.
Sixty golfers in both the men’s and women’s fields seems a bit light on, doesn’t it?
A deeper field arguably would’ve been a better fit for the Olympic Games golf tournament, but the cream of the golfing talent pool will be playing in Paris. The composition of the field is ultimately determined by the IOC but the top 15 women golfers and eight out of the top 10 in the men’s game will tee it up at Le Golf National. However, doubling the field and adding pros from some minnow countries would generate the kind of cool stories the Olympics thrives on, especially given golf’s current Grow The Game™ era. At the moment, 33 nations will be represented across both tournaments.
Will Nelly Korda and Xander Schauffele win gold again?
The American pair stood on the top step of the dais in Tokyo and they’ll be kicking the door down again in Paris. Nelly has dominated the women’s game this year and even her B-game would probably win a medal in Paris. Xander’s breakthrough major win at the PGA Championship was exceeded by a performance for the ages at the Open Championship. Gold fever is a thing, and both will be hard to beat in Paris.
Should we count a gold medal as a major win for Rory McIlroy?
Another major season ends in torturous disappointment for Rory but a gold medal in Paris could numb the pain. His US Open dream vaporised in an instant after a couple of untidy slip-ups late on Sunday, but the game seemed like a slog for Rory during his Open Championship capitulation last week. After vehemently rejecting golf in the Olympics when it returned in Rio in 2016, Rory did a U-turn for Tokyo. He teed it up for Ireland and was involved in a seven-man play-off for the bronze medal, ultimately bowing out on the fourth extra hole but gushing about the Olympic experience afterwards. The wait between the Open and the Masters must be a long one for Rory each year, but a gold medal in Paris would no doubt ease his burden and relieve some pressure.
Can the French make the most of their home ground advantage?
Matthieu Pavon and Victor Perez will represent Les Bleus in the men’s tournament, but France’s best hope of a medal might come in the women’s event. Pavon’s T5 at the US Open showed a tremendous amount of grit and Perez is a five-time winner on the DP World Tour, however, women’s world No.7 Celine Boutier should lead the French charge. Boutier won her first major last year at the Evian Championship, which was played on home soil, and while she doesn’t have the firepower to match the longest hitters, her crafty short game is made for the big stage. Perrine Delacour joins Boutier on the French women’s team.
How will the Aussies go?
Half the Australian Olympic golf team comes from the same family; three quarters of it hail from Perth and are coached by Ritchie Smith. Will Jason Day feel like an outsider in the team room? Possibly! Min Woo Lee and Minjee Lee will become the 16th sister/brother combination to compete for Australia in the same Olympic sport and both have legitimate medal claims. Minjee is an experienced Olympian, playing in her third games, and Min Woo will make his debut in Paris. Jason Day and Hannah Green complete the Australian team and Green might be the one who steals the show: she’s won twice this year and finished fifth at her first games in Tokyo.
In the era of record purses, does an Olympic gold medal move the needle?
Covering yourself in Olympic glory doesn’t pay for the private jet but that doesn’t mean professional golfers don’t care. In fact, Justin Rose giddily describes his gold-winning performance in Rio in a similar vein to his sole major win, the 2013 US Open at Merion. While the bountiful riches of the PGA Tour, LIV and, to a lesser extent the LPGA Tour, are what drives most professionals, an Olympic medal is the kind of thing that can distinguish a career for those heading for the Hall of Fame. While majors will always be the yardstick, it would’ve been revealing to see if Tiger Woods at his peak would’ve pursued Olympic glory. Part of me suspects he would’ve taken the Adam Scott route and want no part of it, but perhaps watching his Dream Team bros dunk their way to gold might’ve piqued Tiger’s interest just enough.
Where does Le Golf National rank among Olympic golf venues?
A regular French Open venue and the host course for the 2018 Ryder Cup, Le Golf National is certainly better credentialled than the courses used at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. However, it’s a long, tough course filled with water hazards, which skews it more towards a rigorous and demanding test rather than a freewheeling birdie fest. While Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo was flawless, Le Golf National can’t match the Rio Olympics course. Genius designer Gil Hanse created a captivating and creative layout full of sandy waste areas and rugged appeal in Rio. It made for an exciting tournament (Justin Rose and Inbee Park claimed the gold) and was the ideal soft launch for golf’s return to the Olympics. The 1900 Paris Olympics included men’s and women’s tournaments which were played at Paris’ now-defunct Compiègne Club, so it is kinda cool to see the game come full circle in Paris.
Sounds like Le Golf National could be torture. Who will be looking forward to it then?
I’d say the handful of French Open winners teeing it up at the Olympics. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi, Sweden’s Alex Noren and Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood have all won at Le Golf National in recent years. And you can add to the list Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Thorbjorn Olesen, who were part of the successful European Ryder Cup team who beat the Americans at the course in 2018.
Is there a cut in the Olympic Golf tournament?
No, which means everyone plays four rounds and therefore will spend at least four nights in the Olympic village, although I suspect Paris’ five-star hotels might have several bookings recorded under the names of various player managers.
What will the gold-medal winning score be?
12-under for the men’s, 14-under for the women.
Can world No.1 Scottie Scheffler win a medal?
Detective Bryan Gillis aside, Scheffler’s year has been sensational. Winning the Masters and a gold medal in the same year? That would be the icing on the cake. The only issue perhaps holding Scheffler back from achieving such a magnanimous feat is his strange ability to throw in a pukeworthy performance with the putter every so often. It happened again in the third round at The Open but his ball-striking has been simply stunning this year.
Will CT Pan again prove to be a play-off beast?
CT Pan displayed some serious stones in his bronze medal-winning performance in Tokyo. He stared down a seven-man play-off, featuring Rory and Collin Morikawa, and got the job done. A runner-up finish at the John Deere Classic in June has been CT’s highlight of the year, but the man of steel from Chinese Taipei might be brewing another surprise in Paris.
Will the Maple Leaf flag feature at Golf Le National?
If it does, expect Brooke Henderson to be responsible. The double major winner is clearly Canada’s best chance for a medal and despite being just 26 years old she’s somewhat of an Olympic veteran — this’ll be her third games. Her best result came in Rio when seventh and she finished third at the Chevron Championship earlier this year, showing some decent form in the majors. Alena Sharp joins Henderson in the women’s event while Corey Conners and Nick Taylor are the Canadian men’s representatives.
Can Lydia Ko complete the set in Paris?
It would be a fitting result for a player with one of the most graceful swings in golf. The Kiwi won silver in Rio, bronze in Tokyo and can create history if she wins the gold in Paris. A class act on and off the course, a Ko gold medal would be welcomed in the locker room, press tent, IOC offices and by golf fans around the world.
Linn Grant or Yuka Saso?
You don’t win two US Opens without being an exceptional ball striker and a grinder, which makes Yuka Saso an excellent chance to snare Japan a medal. However, Grant is a superstar in the making and possesses an X-Factor that saw her overcome an 11-shot deficit to win the mixed Volvo Masters in June. I’ll take Saso, just, but Grant looms as a Swedish smokey.
Has the USA Olympic Golf Team earned the right to be called the Dream Team?
I don’t think LeBron James and his basketball bros will give up the title that easily but man, the US golf team is stacked with talent. Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele have dominated this year while Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark provide a dash of major-winning class. Nelly Korda has also been the dominant force on the women’s tour over the past year, while her teammates also ooze talent — Lilia Vu has claimed two majors and Rose Zhang is an ascendent superstar. Given all the trophies this group has amassed, maybe the Gleam Team is more appropriate.
|
Written by Jamie Martin
Jamie Martin is currently locked in a battle to keep his handicap hovering around the mid-single digits. Despite his obvious short-game shortcomings, Jamie enjoys playing and writing about every aspect of golf and is often seen making practice swings in a mirror.
|