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Scottie Scheffler wins Olympic thrills with 9-under 62

Scottie Scheffler wins Olympic thrills with 9-under 62

Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines, France – Scottie Scheffler had the best performance of his best year, coming back from four strokes behind to win the Olympics with a thrilling 9-under 62 on Sunday at Le Golf National.

Scheffler, who has won six PGA Tour titles this year, including his second Masters, added Olympic gold to a stellar season with a tour that thrilled nearly 30,000 fans.

The world’s No. 1 player tied the course record at Le Golf National and still needed a lot of help.

Jon Rahm of Spain had a four-stroke lead over Tommy Fleetwood of England when he stepped onto the 11th hole. Fleetwood caught him two holes in during Rahm’s spectacular collapse.

Scheffler took the lead with four consecutive birdies late in the game, none bigger than when he holed an 8-iron shot from deep rough on the 17th hole for an 18-foot birdie putt to take the lead. He set an Olympic record for 72 holes with a 19-under 265.

Fleetwood finished second with a 66, while Hideki Matsuyama won the bronze medal at 17-under with a 65. Rahm tied for sixth at 15-under with a 70.

LPGA Tour

Moriya Jutanugarn won her third career LPGA Tour title by rallying from a tight group at Columbia’s Edgewater to win the Portland Classic.

Starting three shots behind leader Andrea Lee, Jutanugarn shot 66 in mostly calm conditions to take a two-stroke lead over three players.

Jutanugarn played the first 71 holes without a bogey to finish at 22-under 266. The 30-year-old Thai player made birdies on holes 13-15 and made an 8-foot putt to save par on the par-3 16th hole. He made a short birdie putt on the par-4 17th hole and finished with a bogey.

Narin An (66), Nataliya Guseva (68) and Angel Yin (69) tied for second place. Guseva is the first Russian player to hold an LPGA Tour card.

Jutanugarn also won the 2018 HUGEL-JTBC LA Open and the 2021 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational team event with younger sister Ariya Jutanugarn. Ariya Jutanugarn, a 12-time LPGA Tour winner, shot a 65 on Sunday to tie for ninth place at 17 under.

Korn Ferry Tour

Australian Karl Vilips won the Utah Championship in his fourth Korn Ferry Tour appearance, shooting a 5-under 66 to take a two-stroke victory.

Vilips shot a 25-under 259 total at Oakridge Country Club. The 22-year-old former Stanford player moved from 44th in the season rankings to 15th, and the last top 30 to earn PGA Tour cards.

Joe Weiler (64) and Matt McCarty (68) tied for second, with McCarty shooting 61 on Saturday.

US Golf Association

Leta Lindley won the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh, where she has been the runner-up for the past two years, finishing two strokes ahead with a 7-under 64.

Lindley, 52, made birdies on five of the first eight holes and added two more on the par-4 14th and 15th. He finished at 9-under 275, a record for total strokes in the event, which was played for the first time in 2018.

Starting the round five shots ahead, Japanese Kaori Yamamoto finished second with a 71 shot, making birdies on the last two holes.

Other tours

Ian Gilligan defeated Florida teammate Jack Turner over 29 holes Saturday at Moraine Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, to win the Western Amateur. The 11-hole playoff was the longest in the Western Amateur’s 125-year history. Gilligan and Turner won their 19-hole semifinal matches. … South Africa’s Barend Botha won the BioSteel Championship for his second consecutive PGA Tour Americas victory. Botha shot 64-63-64-63 at the Ambassador in Windsor, Ontario, to finish at 26-under 254. He won the Commissionaires Ottawa Open last week and finished at 26 under. John Keefer (62) and Matthew Anderson (64) were one stroke behind. … Robert Coles won his first Legends Tour title by winning the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Englishman shot 1-under 71 for a one-stroke win over local favorite Paul Lawrie (76). Coles finished at 4-under. Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren won the Challenge Tour’s Irish Challenge at The K Club in Straffan, Ireland. He shot 4-under 68 to finish at 16-under 272 — one stroke ahead of France’s Sebastien Gros. … Daniel von Tonder shot 4-under 68 for a two-stroke win at the FNB Eswatini Challenge on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. … Rio Takeda won the Japan LPGA’s Hokkaido Meiji Cup at the Sapporo International. She made birdie on the par-4 18th hole, shot 6-under 66 and a one-stroke win over Yui Kawamoto. … Ina Yoon finished at 2-under 70 to win the Jeju Sandasoo Masters on the Korea LPGA by two strokes.