Scottie Scheffler poses with his gold medal with Tommy Fleetwood of Great Britain, silver medallist, and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan winner of the bronze medal. Photo / Getty Images
Scottie Scheffler poses with his gold medal with Tommy Fleetwood of Great Britain, silver medallist, and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan winner of the bronze medal. Photo / Getty Images
American Scottie Scheffler has offered an awesome demonstration of why he’s the world’s top golfer as he delivered the round of his life to land Olympic gold at Le Golf National.
On a Sunday afternoon when the world’s top golfers put on an extraordinary show in the sunshine for 30,000fans, Scheffler, already a six-time winner on the PGA tour this year, stood tallest of all recovering a four-shot overnight deficit to fire an extraordinary, flawless nine-birdie round of 62 and grab the title.
The 28-year-old double Masters champ covered the final pressurised nine holes in an incredible 29 strokes, setting a red-hot target of 19-under par that his pursuers, including his nearest challengers for the title of world’s finest, all fell short of matching him.
Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood had a chance to match him but bogeyed the 17th before a par at the last earned him the silver one shot behind on 18 under after a 66, while Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama took bronze on 17 under.
Australia’s Jason Day finished with a three-under 68 for a 12 under total, but after a brief early charge on a day of fabulous low-scoring golf, his fourth sub-70 round was only enough to earn him joint-ninth place.
The Queenslander’s teammate Min Woo Lee, whose chances had evaporated after a poor first round, also ended with a 68 that earned him a tie for 22nd on seven under.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox finished 35th at two-under following a three-over final round while Daniel Hillier ended the tournament at seven-over in 55th.
