"I'm very happy we won another gold medal" - Xander Schauffele congratulates Scottie Scheffler on Olympic triumph

Scottie Scheffler won the gold medal at the currently ongoing Paris Olympics with a score of 19 under. It was the US golfer's Olympic debut.

On the last day of the golf leg of the iconic Games, Scheffler was trailing behind Spanish golfer Jon Rahm and defending champion and compatriot Xander Schauffele who topped the leaderboard at the end of Round 3. It was a rough end for Schauffele who looked very much in contention to defend his gold medal but things just didn’t go his way on the final day.

Later, there was no bitterness between the two US golfers. Schauffele told the media that looking at the loss from outside of the competition gaze, he was happy that an American golfer had won at the Summer Games. He said (via the PGA Tour on X):

“When I take my competitive hat off and put my USA patriot hat on, I am very happy that we won another gold medal.”

Scheffler, meanwhile, expressed pride in representing his country at the Olympic Games. He said (via Golf.com):

"It’s pretty high up there. Anytime you’re able to represent your country is pretty special. This was a fun week and it was great representing the USA, and I’m proud to be going home with a medal."

Golf is generally not a sport where players get to represent their country as often as other sports. This is the third consecutive edition of the Olympics with golf in the events list since the sport's reintroduction at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

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Scottie Scheffler’s journey to the gold medal

Scottie Scheffler at the Paris Olympics (Source: Imagn)

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler faced a daunting line-up of opponents in his first Olympic appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He and Xander Schauffele started on a good note.

Scheffler was the favorite to win the competition given his track record this year. He had won the Masters and five other tournaments on the PGA Tour this season going into the Summer Games.

However, Schauffele took the lead ahead of Scheffler along with Jon Rahm. While the distance between the leaders of the pack and Scheffler increased over the first two days, they weren’t the only competitors that made things harder for the American golfer.

Golf legend Rory McIlroy and British golfer Tommy Fleetwood were also in the mix. While they were trailing throughout the event, they both managed to make massive comebacks on the last day, putting them in strong positions for a podium finish. However, their comeback efforts eventually broke down after massive mistakes on their part.

McIlroy got stuck following a brutal double bogey on the 15th hole after his ball rolled into the pond. While Fleetwood had managed to catch up with Rahm, his fightback efforts were halted when his ball landed in the collar of the bunker creating an awkward position and contact situation which made it difficult for him to advance in the event.

This moment proved to be a game changer as Rahm and Schauffele had also begun struggling and Scottie Scheffler took this opportunity to secure the lead.

The Masters winner tied the course record in the 4th round after carding 9 under 62 and emerged as the gold medalist. Scheffler was quoted as saying about the win (via Golf.com):

“I was trying to stay aggressive, and I was doing my best to stay patient and wait for my putter to get hot. I hit some really nice shots on the back nine and hit some nice putts. And really I was just trying to do anything I could do [to] make some birdies, and I was fortunate to be able to get it done."

Fleetwood ended up winning silver with Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama taking the bronze medal.