The Olympic leaderboard looks pretty impressive, with Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele on the pace at 14 under par after 54 holes, but with a number of big names such as Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler also within striking distance, it should be a thrilling Sunday at Le Golf National.
McIlroy and Scheffler are tied for sixth at 10 under after shooting rounds of 66 and 67, respectively, while Hideki Matsuyama and Nicolai Hojgaard are one stroke back at 11 under. Tommy Fleetwood shot a 2-under 69 on Saturday to move into sole third place at 13 under.
“It’s great for golf to have all those guys ranked so highly,” McIlroy said after the match.
“Obviously, Xander who’s had a great year, Scotty who’s the best player in the world, Jon Rahm, the young guys, and then Nikolaj who shot 62 today. So yeah, it’s an incredible leaderboard and it should be an exciting day on Sunday.”
McIlroy had five birdies and 13 pars for his first bogey-free round this week — he made 17 of 18 in regulation and said he had about two strokes to spare — but the Ulsterman only managed to make a putt from 59 feet, good for 49th out of 60 players on Saturday, and at least he made no glaring errors.
“Every day I’m getting a little bit better,” McIlroy added.
“I made a lot of mistakes the first two days. I tried to make fewer mistakes today, and I was able to do that. It was a really solid round of golf and I think I can aim for a medal tomorrow.”
Scheffler, meanwhile, has a chance to win a medal on Sunday, but, like McIlroy, will need a score in the mid-60s to make the podium.
“I feel like I haven’t been very good the last few days, but I hung in there and did enough to stay in the tournament. It’s easy to get good on this course. You saw Nikolai play a really good round today and he’s going to need to play similarly tomorrow if he wants to get a medal,” Scheffler explained.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. [Sunday]”I’m off to a good start. I birdied the first hole the last two days but just couldn’t get any momentum going during the round. I’m just hoping to keep playing well, get in good positions and make some putts.”
Scheffler’s putter is off again, just as it was at Royal Troon in the British Open. He lost nearly three strokes on the green to the player ranked 47th. But if he can get some better use out of his putter on Sunday, Scheffler has a good chance of winning again. He ranks first in strokes gained on approaches to the green and seventh in strokes gained off the tee, a testament to the beauty of the ball he hits.
But many other players are hitting the ball well too.
Jason Day, Ludvig Oberg and Joaquin Niemann are one stroke behind Scheffler and McIlroy at nine under. Four players, including France’s Victor Perez, are at eight under but that group of eight might be too far behind given the tournament’s crowded leaderboard, but we saw Hojgaard shoot 62 on Saturday so anything could happen.
Either way, with some familiar names on the leaderboard, one thing can be guaranteed: Sunday’s Olympic final round will be a thrilling one, no matter who wins the gold, silver or bronze medal.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
