Scottie Scheffler produced a spectacular nine-under 62 at Le Golf National, equalling the course record and emerging from a star-studded leaderboard to win gold at the Olympic men’s golf competition.

On a thrilling final day on the outskirts of Paris, the American was flawless from start to finish, reaching 19-under 265 as he surged to victory, highlighted by an impressive back-nine 29 to underline his status as the world No 1.

Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood fell just short of emulating Rio 2016 gold medallist Justin Rose as a closing 66 saw him settle for silver, one shot behind at 18 under. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama rounded out the podium finishers with bronze, finishing a shot further back.

Frenchman Victor Perez delighted the home crowd with a brilliant final-round 63 to finish solo fourth at 16 under, with Rory McIlroy of Ireland and Spain’s Jon Rahm sharing fifth at 15 under.

Scheffler trailed overnight co-leaders Xander Schauffele and Rahm by four shots but showed his pedigree to follow up a fast start with an electric finish that included a run of four straight birdies from Nos 14-17.

After recording his seventh title of what has been a remarkable year, the world No 1 explained what made his gold medal so special: “It was just very emotional being up there on stage as the flag is being raised and sitting there singing the national anthem. Yes, that's definitely one I'll remember for a long time.”

THE SA CHALLENGE

Christiaan Bezuidenhout birdied the final hole of Le Golf National to card a closing round of 69 and end his 2024 Paris Olympic campaign on 274, a total of 10 under par and 16th place on the leaderboard. One shot behind him, after signing for a closing 70, was Erik van Rooyen, on nine-under-par 275 and 17th position in the elite 60-man field.

The two South Africans knew they’d have to shoot low to have any chance of getting a look-in at the medals, on a course which allowed a lot of birdie opportunities, but also pushed errant drives and wayward approaches to the greens.

Bezuidenhout was steadiness personified coming home and birdied the 15th, before ending his second Olympics on a high, making a birdie-three on the 18th, just as he had in the third round.

Van Rooyen again had a round where he mixed birdies with bogeys, and even a double-bogey, as he had every day. This time he had four birdies on the back nine, plus a bogey and double, before going birdie-double-bogey-birdie on the 14th, 15th and 16th.

Both players revelled in the experience of representing South Africa at the Games, with Bezuidenhout saying: “It’s always special to represent one’s country at any level. Outside the Majors, this is one of the biggest stages to play. It’s a great honour to have the chance to make South Africa proud on and off the course.” – Gary Lemke, Team South Africa

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WOMEN’S COMPETITION

For the first time, the top-ranked South African golfers are competing at the Olympic Games after the Zika virus and Covid-19 pandemic played havoc at the Rio Games in 2016 and the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, respectively.

South Africa’s players qualified directly for the Games in the individual competitions, based on their world ranking performance, with Ashleigh Buhai and Paula Reto flying the flag in the women’s competition. With each player boasting plenty of experience and success on international and local Tours, Buhai and Reto will be hoping to emulate their compatriots Bezuidenhout and Van Rooyen, who finished strongly in the highly competitive men’s event.

Buhai expressed excitement at the prospect of being able to compete at the Games again after she took part in Rio, saying: “Any time you represent South Africa it’s an honour. The experience you get at the Olympics is not like any other tournament.”

She and Reto certainly have the skills to tackle the challenging Albatros course at Le Golf National, located in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, southwest of central Paris. They would have also learned plenty from the men as they put on a show to remember on the one of the finest golf courses in Europe.

IMAGES: TRACY WILCOX/CHRIS CONDON/BEN JARED/TRISTAN JONES/PGA TOUR/IGF