Categories crunchfx

Scottie Scheffler Soars, Jon Rahm Falls

The 2024 men’s Olympic golf tournament concluded with another major championship and spectacle for the World No. 1. Who won the week and who fell short of their Olympic dreams? Let’s get started.

The winners

Scottie Scheffler: Wasn’t it talked about Xander Schauffele’s two majors leaving the world No. 1’s green jacket and a bunch of other Tour trophies behind? After a bogey-free 9-under 62 and 529 grams on Sunday, the scales tipped to the Texan: that’s the weight of an Olympic gold medal. What a year. What a superstar.

Golf at the Olympics: Sunday’s showing was as good as any major this year, with a worthy champion like Scheffler and plenty of heartbreak behind him, all in front of a big, loud, celebrating crowd. The game’s best players are finally making this rivalry matter, and the next one can’t come fast enough. Who could have imagined that a decade ago?

Tommy Fleetwood: Silver is hurting a bit after a bogey off the green on the 71st hole and a pulled approach shot that eliminated his tie-breaking birdie on the 72nd hole, but it’s still a great week in front of a positive crowd for the man who continues to climb the best-player-not-a-major list. Or has he already peaked?

Victor Perez: The Frenchman finished one shot shy of a medal but will always be a hero after rallying from a back nine of 29 to a 63 in front of his home fans at Le Golf National. Only Scheffler’s final round was better.

Wyndham Clark: The 2023 U.S. Open champion went 4-over after the first three holes of the tournament, which wasn’t enough to quiet those who thought he should have replaced this year’s U.S. Open champion. But he went 15-under the rest of the way, including a 65-65 weekend, to tie for 14th place. We’ll see if that carries over into the PGA Tour playoffs.

Losers

Jon Rahm: “This is something that will hurt for a while,” said the Spaniard, looking completely exhausted after a magnificent back-nine 39 that squandered an early four-stroke lead and dropped him off the medal podium altogether. A grim exclamation mark on a lost year.

Victor Hovland: A 67-68 weekend saved some face, but a middling finish (T30 in the field of 60) kept him going long, mysterious season After the 2023 FedEx Cup championship. Currently 55th in the playoff standings and may not be able to get past Memphis.

Rory McIlroy: He said he had never worked so hard for third in Tokyo three years ago (he failed in a seven-man playoff for bronze) and was chasing more after making a thrilling five straight birdies to start his back nine on Sunday. But a rinsed approach on the 15th hole led to a double bogey and the end of the charge, another miscue to add to the list of possible events in the past decade.

Xander Schauffelle: The “loser” label is harsh here, but the Tokyo gold medalist missed the co-lead on Saturday night and two early birdies on Sunday appeared to put him in the driver’s seat. But he played 4-over golf the rest of the way and his 2-over 73 was the worst score among the top 30 finishers. You never know in this game.