Team USA’s Scottie Scheffler wins Olympics Gold medal in golf

Scottie Scheffler (Team USA) putts on the 1st green during the Sunday singles of the Ryder Cup 2023. Rome^ Italy - September 30 2023

Team USA’s Scottie Scheffler rallied from four shots back to win the men’s individual stroke play golf tournament at the Paris Olympics’ Le Golf National course on Sunday in Guyancourt, France. Scheffler, 28, carded a 9-under-par 62 final round for an Olympic-record 19-under overall to win the 2024 golf tournament. Scheffler would birdie holes 1, 2, 3, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 for an exciting final round, and added a gold medal to his victorious 2024 season that has already earned him a second green jacket with a win at the Masters this year.

Scheffler also set an Olympic record for 72 holes at 19-under 265. Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood, who fell out of the lead with a bogey from the rough on the 17th, fired a 5-under 66 over his final 18 holes to finish at 18-under, securing a silver medal; NS Hideki Matsuyama of Japan was 6-under Sunday and finished at 17-under overall to earn bronze. France’s Victor Perez (-16) finished fourth, just off the podium, with Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (-15) and Spain’s John Rahm (-15) finished tied for fifth.  Scheffler’s fellow Americans — Wyndham Clark (11-under) and Collin Morikawa (6-under) — tied for 14th and 24th, respectively.

An emotional Scheffler wiped away tears during the medal ceremony as the national anthem played, and later told NBC Sports regarding the importance of winning a Gold Medal in his career: “I’m not big on comparisons or anything like that, I’m just going to enjoy this moment. Like I said, I take tremendous pride in representing my country and I’m very proud to be going home, to be going back to the USA with a medal.”

Scheffler is currently ranked number one in the world, with six PGA wins in 2024, including winning the Masters (his second win in Augusta), the Memorial, the RBC Heritage, the Players Championship, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  He is also the first golfer to win six times on the PGA tour in a single season (since Tiger Woods in 2009).  Said Scheffler of his Olympic experience: “It was a pretty cool experience, it was very special. Like I said, representing your country is amazing. Putting on the flag every morning is a pretty humbling experience. Going out here and doing our best. It was definitely a fun experience, it was really cool to go see the other events. I’m proud to be going home with a medal.”

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