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Paris 2024: Tommy Fleetwood takes silver in frenetic final round, Scottie Scheffler storms to jaw-dropping gold

Alasdair Mackenzie

Updated 04/08/2024 at 20:36 GMT

Scottie Scheffler stormed up the leaderboard to take a stunning gold medal for Team USA after an outstanding final round of the men's golf at Paris 2024. Tommy Fleetwood took silver for Team GB after an agonising late bogey denied him a shot at gold, while Japan's Hideki Matsuyama won bronze following a collapse from early leader Jon Rahm of Spain.

Fleetwood walks off course an Olympic silver medallist as Scheffler takes gold

Tommy Fleetwood won a superb silver medal for Team GB after a final round for the ages in the men's golf at Paris 2024, where world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler claimed gold in spectacular style.
Jon Rahm was the runaway favourite after racing into a four-shot lead on the front nine, but the Spaniard collapsed to set up a thrilling finale featuring some of the biggest names in the sport.
Scheffler's joint-course record 62 proved enough to fire the American to the top of the leaderboard on 19-under, with Fleetwood's bogey on the penultimate hole dropping him into silver medal spot, one shot ahead of bronze medallist Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
Ireland's Rory McIlroy had another strong round, but a double-bogey on the 15th scuppered his medal chances as he finished joint-fifth alongside Rahm and one shot behind French favourite Victor Perez.
Rahm, the joint-leader overnight alongside defending champion Xander Schauffele, became the runaway favourite after a sensational charge on the front nine.
A run of five birdies in six holes, followed by another on the 10th, put the two-time major winner four shots clear and the gold medal in touching distance as Fleetwood, Matsuyama and Schauffele scrambled to keep up.
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McIlroy hails 'one of the best golf tournaments' he's ever played

But everything changed on the turn as Rahm unravelled, back-to-back bogies and a double bogey on the 15th seeing him tumble out of the medal positions altogether.
The Spaniard eventually rallied, but he was up against a field of chasers who really hit their stride on the back nine, none more so than Scheffler.
The world No. 1 shot a joint course record 62 to propel himself from the fringes of the medal discussion into the driving seat as his compatriot, Tokyo gold medallist and overnight leader Schauffele, struggled to a 73 and fell out of the medal hunt.  
Scheffler took the sole lead with three holes to go after producing a fourth consecutive birdie and went in as the clubhouse leader on 19-under, having started the day four shots off the lead.
Fleetwood reeled him back in with a birdie on 16th to go level on top and set up the prospect of a gold medal play-off, but the Englishman’s bogey on 17th nudged him back into second, and he couldn’t produce any magic on the final hole as a par sealed silver.
There were plenty of players who threatened a medal push on an engrossing day, with McIlroy, French favourite Perez and Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard staying in the mix going into the closing stages.
McIlroy put himself one shot off the lead after a spectacular start to his back nine with five straight birdies, but a double-bogey on the 15th proved damaging and cost him a medal chance as he finished level fifth.
Matsuyama’s putt for birdie on the 18th agonisingly clipped the cup but didn’t drop as he signed for a 65 that proved enough for bronze.

Men’s golf final standings

-19: Scottie Scheffler (USA)
-18: Tommy Fleetwood (GBR)
-17: Hideki Matsuyama (JPN)
-16: Victor Perez (FRA), Jon Rahm (ESP)
-15 Rory McIlroy (IRL)
-14: Nicolai Hojgaard (DEN)
-13: Tom Kim (KOR)
-12: Xander Schauffele (USA), Corey Conners (CAN), Jason Day (AUS), Joaquin Niemann (CHI), Thomas Detry (BEL)

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