AINT QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) — Scottie Scheffler was in awe at the size of the gallery when he hit the first of his 265 shots in Olympic golf, and he was in tears when he stood at the top podium with the gold medal as the American flag was raised and the anthem was played.
Scheffler wasn’t alone.
Jason Day, a major champion who spent 51 weeks at No. 1 in the world, needed two holes before the Aussie could calm his nerves at the start. Tom Kim of South Korea was crying when he walked off the 18th green Sunday after his bid for a medal fell short, overcome by emotions he had pent up during his bid to even get to Paris.
Olympic golf offers four days for three medals, and nothing for the other 57 players.
Scheffler also received a $37,500 prize from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympics Committee, not even a drop in the bucket compared with the $28,148,692 he has earned this year.
“I still think that the Ryder Cup is the best tournament that we have in our game — pure competition — and I think this has the potential be right up there with it,” Rory McIlroy said after his late blunder cost him a medal.
“I think with how much of a (expletive) show the game of golf is right now, and you think about the two tournaments that might be the purest form of competition in our sport, we don’t play for money in it,” he said. “So it speaks volumes for what’s important in sports. I think every single player this week had an amazing experience.”
Jon Rahm, remarkably, felt the same way.
The former world No. 1 from Spain had a four-shot lead with seven holes to play when he squandered it with two bogeys and a messy double bogey in a span of four holes. Rahm didn’t even medal. He typically runs hot for about 30 minutes after he signs his card. He found perspective amid the disappointment quickly this time.
“Two of the most meaningful weeks in my career is two events where we make no money,” said Rahm, whose signing bonus with Saudi-funded LIV Golf was said to be in the $400 million range. “I’ve said that a million times, and I’ll say it again because the Ryder Cup and this one are up there.”
The golden glow of so many players — not just Scheffler and his amazing back nine for a 62 on Sunday to win — followed a final two hours that produced the best theater since golf returned to the Olympic program in 2016.
No sport in the Summer Games moves slower. Victor Perez of France hit the opening tee shot Thursday and it was nearly 81 hours until the medals were decided. But the payoff was a back nine that was electric, with six players chasing the gold medal.
For high drama, it rivaled the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 when Bryson DeChambeau outlasted McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay.
Rahm, McIlroy and Xander Schauffele — the defending Olympic champion and double major winner — all fumbled away chances through a five-hole stretch on the back nine. That helped pave the way for Scheffler, the No. 1 player in golf, who charged through with the lowest Sunday round of his career.
Tommy Fleetwood, who has twice won trophies at Le Golf National, was tied for the lead until he missed a 20-foot par putt on the 17th hole. Needing birdie to force a playoff, he missed the 18th green to the left. That left him a tough 100-foot pitch to get up-and-down to claim silver, and it was no small consolation when he said, “I never dreamt of being an Olympic medalist.”
“It was very, very enjoyable. It really, really was,” Fleetwood said. “I just think it was a great spectacle for golf being out there and being part of that. If you’re not going to enjoy those times, then you’re not going to get much happiness from the game of golf.”
Olympic golf sold its allotment of 30,000 tickets, and there was some question how many would actually show up. The answer was heard as much as seen. The course was packed from start to finish. One longtime European Tour rules official referred to it as “Ryder Cup-esque” — not that big or loud, but perhaps in the same postal code.
It helped being in Europe, compared with Rio de Janeiro where golf is rarely played and Tokyo that had no spectators because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was big momentum going forward to Los Angeles in 2028 at Riviera.
All that’s lacking is countries playing as a team, and that appears likely to change. The International Golf Federation is awaiting approval on a mixed-team competition that would be played in two days between the men’s and women’s competition.
For now, this was another big step for golf in the Olympics. Golf had been missing from the Olympiad for 112 years — there were 74 Americans and three Canadians competing in 1904 in St. Louis. It returned in Rio with four of the top players in the world taking a pass.
That seems like a distant memory. Playing the Olympics now is a priority, especially after a show like Paris.
“It was great. That’s what Olympic golf needs, for sure, it being so young,” Schauffele said. “Back in the Olympics after a century-ish, this is the kind of field and kind of show the tournament needs for all the top players to feel like they want to play it.”
