Olympic Spotlight: The Top 5 Finishers in Men's Golf

The fifth Olympic men's golf tournament during the Paris 2024 Games took place at Le Golf National from August 1-4 and featured 60 golfers from 33 countries, including four from the United States. Following an exciting fourth round with plenty of players in contention, American and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler emerged as the Olympic champion with a 19-under 265. Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama won silver and bronze, respectively, with scores of 18-under 266 and 17-under 267.

Scheffler was barely in the mix during the start of the fourth round and was six shots behind the leader early on the back nine, but shot a final round 62, including 29 in the last nine holes, to cement his status as the best golfer in the world. Defending Olympic champion and two-time major winner Xander Schauffele was also in contention through three rounds, but shot a final round 73 to finish tied for ninth place.

Here's a look at the top five finishers.

Scottie Scheffler (-19)

Scheffler, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2024, had a relatively pedestrian first three rounds of 67-69-67 before matching the course record at Le Golf National in the fourth round with a 9-under 62. He birdied five of the last six holes, including each of the last four holes, taking his first lead of the week after concluding his round. Scheffler saved some of his best shots for last, too. He hit a tee shot to within eight feet of the hole on the par-3 17th and drained an 18-foot putt on the 18th hole after a great 8-iron shot from the deep rough.

"It's been a long week. It's been a challenging week," Scheffler said after winning the gold medal, speaking to ESPN. "I played some great golf today, and I'm proud to be going home with a medal. These guys played tremendous golf, and I think we should all be proud of the golf that we played this week."

Scheffler also established a new 72-hole Olympic golf record with a 19-under 265. He is the third American, joining Schauffele (2020) and Charles Sands (1900) to win gold in the Olympic men's golf tournament. Great Britain's Justin Rose (2016) and Canada's George Lyon (1904) are the other two gold medal winners. 

Tommy Fleetwood (-18)

Until Scheffler's dramatic rise on the back nine, Fleetwood was in good shape to win the gold medal. Second place is a familiar result for the 33-year-old native of Southport, England, who has yet to win in 142 starts on the PGA TOUR but is a five-time runner-up and has five third-place finishes. He also has 36 top-10 finishes.

Fleetwood trailed early fourth round leader Jon Rahm by four strokes at one point, but took the outright lead by the 13th hole. He lost the lead by the 17th hole after recording a bogey and needed a birdie on 18 to force a playoff with Scheffler. Fleetwood missed the green on his approach and rolled a chip past the hole on his next shot, ultimately settling for par and the silver medal.

Hideki Matsuyama (-17)

Matsuyama, who was fourth in Tokyo three years prior, held on to win the bronze medal in Paris. He was the first round leader after shooting an 8-under 63, but followed that up with scores of 68 and 71. Matsuyama shot a 6-under 65 in the final round and was within striking distance of first place on the back nine, but finished his round with six consecutive pars. He is the first Japanese golfer to win an Olympic medal.

Victor Perez (-16)

Riding the support of the French crowd at Le Golf National, Victor Perez, like Scheffler, put together an incredible back nine but just missed out on a medal, finishing one stroke behind Matsuyama for the bronze medal. Perez was just 10-under par through the first 11 holes in the fourth round, but had four birdies and one eagle to go 6-under through the next five holes. He made par on the final two holes of the tournament.

Perez equaled Scheffler's back nine score of 29 and had the second-best final round with a 63. The PGA Tour rookie finished T33rd the following weekend at the Wyndham Championship, securing the last of the 70 spots in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Rory McIlroy/Jon Rahm (-15)

Rahm and McIlroy finished tied for fifth at 15-under 269. McIlroy was consistent in all four rounds, scoring 68-69-66-66, and was within one shot of the lead at one point late in the fourth round after recording five consecutive birdies, but hit a pitching wedge shot into the water from the 15th fairway, ultimately derailing his gold medal hopes.

Rahm, who had a four-shot lead early in the fourth round, experienced a stunning collapse with a final round 70, including 39 on the back nine. He was 20-under par at one point and finished 15-under after missing a par putt on the last hole.