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Scottie Scheffler wins Olympic gold after comeback victory

Scottie Scheffler wins Olympic gold after comeback victory

Although The world’s No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler, was a long way from winning the gold medal entering the final round of men’s Olympic golf at Le Golf National in France on Sunday. At the tee time, Scheffler was sitting four strokes behind — behind American Xander Schauffele and Spaniard Jon Rahm.

Everything changed after Scheffler made half a dozen birdies on the final nine holes of the French golf course. The 28-year-old After a flawless run, he stepped onto the Olympic podium and won the gold medal for the United States, with Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood taking the silver and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama taking the bronze.

The reigning Masters champion began to gain momentum early Sunday when he made birdie with a 10-foot putt on his first hole. But after 10 holes and several more birdies, Scheffler was four strokes behind Rahm, who appeared to be a candidate for Olympic gold.

But the Spanish golfer quickly lost his lead with a couple of bogeys and a double-bogey in the final few holes. Scheffler, on the other hand, seemingly couldn’t miss. On holes 14 to 17, Scheffler continued to climb the leaderboard with birdie after birdie. His put He made his fourth consecutive birdie on the 17th green – and that secured his victory.

Scheffler’s comeback victory for Olympic gold comes amid an eventful professional and personal year for the 28-year-old. In April, Scheffler won his second green jacket at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia. Shortly thereafter, his wife, Meredith Scheffler, gave birth to their first child, Bennett. Then, just days after giving birth, Scheffler was arrested, handcuffed and charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer with her vehicle in Louisville during the PGA Championship. The charges were dropped in late May after Jefferson County Prosecutor Mike O’Connell admitted the incident was “a big misunderstanding.”

Gold medalist Scottie Scheffler (center), silver medalist Tommy Fleetwood (left) and bronze medalist Hideki Matsuyama listen to the U.S. national anthem during the men's golf medal ceremony.

George Walker IV / AP

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Gold medalist Scottie Scheffler (center), silver medalist Tommy Fleetwood (left) and bronze medalist Hideki Matsuyama listen to the U.S. national anthem during the men’s golf medal ceremony.

On June 18, the U.S. Olympic golf team selected Scheffler along with three other golfers. Scheffler’s victory was the second consecutive Olympic gold for the men’s U.S. team; teammate Xander Schauffele won all of them at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

During the medal ceremony on Sunday, Scheffler became visibly emotional and broke down in tears as The Star Spangled Banner played.

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