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After coming agonizingly close to claiming a gold medal at the Olympics on Sunday, Tommy Fleetwood says he's focusing on the positive.

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PARIS—On a wild final day at the Olympic golf competition, as a United Nation of players raced up the leaderboard and future Hall of Famers crumbled and all of France seemed to be carrying along their favorite son, as songs were sung and flags fluttered, as the entire giddy, thrilling Sunday teetered on the edge of anarchy, it was left to Scottie Scheffler to restore order. He may be only 28 but the balding Scheffler radiated dad vibes long before he and wife Meredith welcomed a baby boy this summer. While Rory McIlroy forfeited his medal chances with typical heedlessness and a glowering Jon Rahm kicked away a four-stroke lead, Scheffler ho-hummed his way around a booby-trapped Le Golf National. He was utterly unbothered by Rahm’s front-nine 31 or the wall of sound that followed France’s Victor Perez as he came home in 29. Scheffler just picked apart the golf course and snatched the gold medal with his unflappable excellence, along the way breaking hearts of Great Britain and Japan, as Tommy Fleetwood had to settle for silver and Hideki Matsuyama for bronze.

Scheffler’s glittering triumph puts an exclamation point on an all-time great year, as a gold necklace looks great with green formalwear. Along with the Masters he has taken five big-time PGA Tour events: the Players, Bay Hill, Memorial, Hilton Head and Hartford. Yet the Olympics will be remembered as his defining performance. Four strokes behind 54-hole co-leaders Rahm and Xander Schauffele at the outset of the round, Scheffler announced his attentions with birdies on the first three holes thanks to laser approach shots. But six straight pars followed while Rahm made birdie on six of his first 10 holes. Scheffler was six strokes back and at best fighting for the bronze. At least, that’s how it felt to everyone but the only person who matters. For all of his spectacular ballstriking and deft chipping, Scheffler’s secret weapons are his unshakable belief in himself and ability to tune out all the noise. Arriving on the 10th tee he hadn’t made a birdie in an hour and a half and Le National was on tilt but Scheffler simply put his head down and went to work. “I felt like at the time it was definitely slipping away,” he says. “[Caddie Ted Scott] always does a really good job of keeping me in the right head space and making sure I was staying committed to what we’re doing and not focusing on the results.” 

And just like that the results came, as he stuck a wedge to 12 feet on the 10th hole and finally made a putt, and then Scheffler did it again on the 12th. After a sweet two-putt birdie on the par-5 14th he nearly jarred his approach on 15. Across the grounds at Le National and Golf Twitter a familiar refrain could be felt: Scottie’s coming. His aw-shucks demeanor is not fooling anyone; he has become the game’s most feared closer, his very presence on the leaderboard tightening the collars of his competitors. “He’s got such a complete game, he’s really hard to play against because you know that he’s never going to make a mistake,” says Jason Day, who finished tied for 9th. “But that’s something that we have to elevate our games to.”

Yet the biggest names on the leaderboard were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment. Rahm bogeyed 11 and 12 and then took five strokes to get down from 170 yards on 14. Rory McIlroy found himself one shot off the lead but made a shocking (yet somehow unsurprising) mistake by coming up short of the 15th green with a wedge, ending his medal bid in the moat protecting the putting surface. Schauffele bogeyed 12 and 13 and doubled 15. Scheffler suddenly had the air of a cat cleaning canary feathers from his whiskers. Perez, who played the round of his life (63) but finished one shot from bronze, said, “I don’t think there are many birdie chances on the final four holes.” No one told Scheffler. He flagged his tee shot on the 16th hole for a third straight birdie and then at 17 produced the shot of the tournament. An errant drive left his ball ensnared in the tangly rough. From 157 yards, Scheffler opened the face of his 8-iron and sent his ball to the moon. It landed 17 feet from the hole. On Twitter, Smylie Kaufman enthused, “His clubface control even through the rough is just a joke.” Scheffler gutted the putt to finally claim a share of the lead. When Fleetwood played 17 he faced a similar shot but his ball skittered over the green, leading to a bogey that gave Scheffler the outright lead.

On 18, what Matthieu Pavon calls “maybe the toughest hole I’ve played,” Scheffler made a stress-free par for a back-nine 29 and a 62 that tied the course record. “I mean, 9-under is a joke of a round out here,” Rahm said after his 70, not trying to hide the pain he felt for, in his telling, letting down all of Spain. When Fleetwood’s final desperation chip missed the hole at 18 the gold medal belonged to Scheffler.

Rory McIlroy says he believes golf needed the Olympics and called the four days at Le Golf National in the Parisian suburbs one of the "best individual competitions I've been a part of."

Titleist has introduced the GT Drivers and fairways, signifying “Generational Technology”, a significant shift in materials, construction and performance from their previous TS models. Despite appearances suggesting minimal change, substantial advancements lie beneath the surface.

Our Tony Covey and Chris Nickel have done full breakdowns and articles on the drivers and fairway woods which can be found here (drivers) and here (fairway woods). Here is a brief overview to whet your appetite. 

About The Titleist GT Line

Titleist’s goal was to enhance performance without altering their familiar look and feel. This approach ensures players have a familiarity with their clubs year over year while hopefully experiencing performance gains. The GT models feature refined aerodynamics with changes focused on the underside to reduce drag and increase speed, notably through the raised aft section.

The introduction of Split Mass Construction redistributes weight to the driver’s perimeter, enhancing stability and optimizing performance. Additionally, the GT lineup incorporates a seamless thermoform composite crown, marking a departure from previous designs. This innovative crown integrates a Proprietary Matrix Polymer (PMP), improving acoustics and mimicking the sound of titanium.

The GT drivers emphasize lowering the center of gravity, promoting consistent spin rates and enhancing forgiveness. Titleist’s Speed Ring with Variable Face Thickness (VFT) face technology aims to boost speed across the face, catering to off-center hits.

Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick of Team GB withdrew from the Olympic men's golf competition after he shot an 81 on Saturday because of a thumb injury.

Kaori Yamamoto opened up a five-stroke lead after shooting a 1-over 72 on Saturday at the U.S. Senior Women's Open.

Andrea Lee took the lead Saturday in a bid for her second Portland Classic victory in three seasons, shooting a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke advantage.

After another scintillating day at Le National, the “creme” has risen to the top at the Olympic golf competition. The hottest golfer on the planet, reigning gold medalist Xander Schauffele, is atop the leaderboard at -14. Tied with him is Jon Rahm, Masters and U.S. Open champion. One shot back is Tommy Fleetwood, the star of the 2018 Ryder Cup here at Le Golf National. Tied for fourth at -11 is Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama and one of the game’s brightest young talents, Nicolai Hjøgaard, who during Saturday’s third round matched the course record with a 62. One stroke further afield is the heavyweight duo of Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

In all, 13 players are within five strokes of the bronze medal, promising plenty of fireworks in front of a crowd that has been at full-throat all week, cheering on their countrymen but also reveling in the feeling that golf has finally been embraced by the Olympics and vice versa. “I think it’s a little more fun than a major,” McIlroy said of the raucous atmosphere. “Sort of like a celebration in a way.”

Now comes the hard part. The final round brings unique pressure with each competitor feeling the weight of their countrymen and the uniqueness of contending in the planet’s biggest athletic spectacle which comes around once every four years. Jason Day has talked often this week about the waves of emotion that come with representing Australia. “It’s definitely reconnected myself with why I play the game and why I love the game so much,” he says. 

With all of this feeling and pressure as the backdrop, here are the most compelling possible outcomes for what has already been a memorable Olympic golf competition.

7. Gold: Tommy Fleetwood—Silver: Hideki Matsuyama—Bronze: Victor Perez

How to watch Sunday's final round of the 2024 Men's Olympic Golf event, including Olympics TV coverage and streaming info for Round 4.

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In today's edition of Play Smart, we look at one of Rory McIlroy's favorite drills and explain how it can help your game.

The post Rory McIlroy’s favorite drill can help you get the club into prime position appeared first on Golf.

Two-time major champ Collin Morikawa is a case study in what it takes to drive it deep and straight: Hold nothing back.

The post How does Collin Morikawa’s swing work? We break it down appeared first on Golf.

Golf finally has some Olympic buzz, and it has the star power to match going into the final round of the men's competition. Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm were tied for the lead Saturday, one shot clear of Tommy Fleetwood.

The Netherlands' Dewi Weber was one of three golfers denied from playing in the Olympics. She's out to prove her country wrong this week.

The post She was barred from the Olympics. Now she’s out to make a ‘statement’ appeared first on Golf.

The Olympic golf competition has become a shootout. Who can we thank? One golfer from Denmark. And all the other chasers.

The post Get your popcorn ready. The Olympics has become an international shootout appeared first on Golf.

On GOLF's Subpar, Sepp Straka explains to Colt and Drew how he can take his game to the next level and win a major championship.

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If you want to build a solid foundation for shots around the green, you must masters a "vanilla" pitch shot.

The post How to hit the perfect ‘vanilla’ pitch shot around the greens appeared first on Golf.

Having trouble getting up-and-down around the greens? Use this move from Top 100 Teacher Kellie Stenzel to revamp your short game.

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Complete 2024 Olympic Golf tee times for Sunday's final round of the men's event, featuring Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm and more.

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With Team USA athletes going for gold in Paris, show off your team spirit with the Red, White and Blue collection on Fairway Jockey.

The post Show off your Team USA spirit with the Red, White and Blue collection on Fairway Jockey appeared first on Golf.

Dewi Weber, who was left off the Dutch Olympic team because a committee didn't think she was good enough to contend, shot a 62 on Friday to take the lead in the Portland Classic.