Individual, Men

The men’s event had two favorites coming into Paris, both Americans. Xander Schauffele was the defending gold medalist but, prior to 2024, he had never won a major championship. Already in 2024, however, he had triumphed at the PGA Championship and The Open Championship. The dominant golfer for most of the year, however, had been Scottie Scheffler, the #1 ranked player in the world, who had won six PGA Tour events already in 2024, including his second victory at The Masters. The 2024 US Open Champion was Bryson DeChambeau but, as a member of the breakaway LIV Golf Tour, DeChambeau’s world ranking had plummeted (LIV Golf receives no world ranking points) and he was not eligible to play at Guyancourt.

Hideki Matsuyama took the early lead with 63 in the opening round and remained tied after round two, with Schauffele and England/Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood. Schauffele led after round three, now tied with Spain’s Jon Rahm at 14-under par, with Fleetwood another stroke back and Scheffler lurking four behind. Rahm was also now on the LIV Golf tour but, joining only early in 2024, he had maintained enough world ranking points to make the Spanish Olympic team.

The final round turned into a battle mostly between Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler, as Schauffele fell back, struggling with 73, and never contended on the final day. Scheffler turned in the best round of the week, with 62, to win gold by one stroke over Fleetwood, as Matsuyama took bronze, improving on his fourth-place finish at Tokyo 2020. Rahm shot 70 in round four and dropped back to fifth. To critics of golf in the Olympics, Scheffler showed what the event meant to him as he broke down in tears on the victory podium while listening to the United States’ National Anthem.