Tommy Fleetwood can officially call himself an Olympic medallist. The Briton won silver in the men’s golf event at the 2024 Olympic Games at Le Golf National on Sunday.
Fleetwood becomes just the second British player to win gold after Justin Rose won at the Rio 2016 Games.
He held the lead for much of the final day before Scottie Scheffler came back to win by 29 strokes, firing a nine-under 62. Scheffler, ranked No. 1 in the world, birdied holes 14 through 17 to win by one stroke. Fleetwood finished with a five-under 66 to win.
Scheffler and Fleetwood were both at 19 under with two holes to go, but a poor tee shot on the 17th hole put Fleetwood one stroke behind. He needed a birdie on the 18th hole to qualify for a playoff, but missed his third shot. Still, Fleetwood sank a 5-footer for par to take the silver medal.
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On Sunday, two-time Ryder Cup player Fleetwood played in the final group with Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm. Tensions rose when Fleetwood bogeyed the first hole, but he regained his composure and recorded three consecutive birdies.
He bogeyed the par-4 seventh hole to drop to 1 under for the day.
But Fleetwood bounced back with consecutive birdies, sinking a 30-foot putt on the eighth hole and an 11-foot putt on the ninth hole. He finished with a 33 and it was clear Fleetwood wasn’t going to give up.
Rahm led by four at the turn but quickly faded on the back nine. Schauffele also collapsed on Sunday.
The eight-time DP World Tour winner continued his excellent shooting, scoring three more birdies to move into a tie for the lead with two holes to go.
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The Southport, England, native made a costly mistake on his tee shot on the 17th hole, hitting it left and into thick rough, his second shot was long and he had to hit a tricky chip shot, then his third shot was a final bogey.
There have been many times in Fleetwood’s career when he has fallen short on Sundays, whether it be in a major or a big PGA Tour event, he has just not been able to get over the barriers in the United States.
Fleetwood has won big prizes at many of these events but never a trophy, but this time he won one of three prizes up for grabs for contestants.
Scheffler outplayed Fleetwood to take the gold medal, but Fleetwood still won one of the three major prizes – an Olympic medal. He’ll remember the moment forever and it will help him feel more confident going into the next 72 holes.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
