Ten photographs.
That was the distinction between Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler’s back-nine scores Sunday within the ultimate spherical of the 2024 Olympic males’s golf competitors. Scheffler, the world No. 1, shot 29 and gained gold after a final-round 62. Rahm, who led by 4 photographs with eight holes to play, shot 39 on the again and completed 4 behind Scheffler and off the rostrum.
“I don’t keep in mind the final time I performed a match and I felt this — I don’t know what the phrase is as a result of, , I not solely really feel like I let myself down however to simply not get it achieved for the entire nation of Spain, it’s much more painful than I would really like it to be,” Rahm mentioned.
Rahm, who final week gained for the primary time in additional than a yr at LIV Golf UK, birdied the par-4 tenth gap after a superb method to maneuver to six below for the spherical and 4 away from the sector with eight to play. That’s when all of it went downhill, as he mentioned, 4 holes that modified the end result of the match.
He three-putted the par-3 eleventh for a bogey. Then on the twelfth, a wayward tee shot led to a different bogey. The dagger, nevertheless, was the par-5 14th, the best gap of the week. A drive into the left tough compelled a layup, however the third shot went left and in need of the inexperienced. He left the chip brief, and after lastly getting on the inexperienced along with his fifth shot, he two putted for a double, the worst rating on the 14th all week.
“The principle mistake is the third shot on 14,” Rahm mentioned. “As soon as I missed the green, which might’t occur as a result of it’s a troublesome tee shot to hit, , put a lay up, it was a very good lay up, I can’t do what I did on the third shot. Can’t go left; 8-iron, 162 metres, I imagine. Attempting to take lengthy out of play and figuring out that brief proper is okay. Yeah, can’t go left of that inexperienced, proper, and ended up in a horrible lie. Ended up paying the worth for compounding errors on that gap.”
Jon Rahm through the ultimate spherical of the lads’s golf competitors on the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer season Video games at Le Golf Nationwide. (Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports activities)
The collapse is unusual from Rahm, who after withdrawing from the U.S. Open due to a foot harm has been on a roll. His worst end all yr on LIV Golf is T-10, and he’s second within the season-long standings. He had a robust exhibiting on the Open Championship two weeks in the past, and final week, he gained once more.
When Rahm was up by 4 photographs with eight to play, it appeared as if the match was over. He was the one participant all week to succeed in 20 below, however he completed at 15 below whereas Scheffler was at 19. On the closing par-4 18th, he had a birdie putt to tie Matsuyama and drive a playoff for bronze, however he three-putted for a bogey and dropped to a tie for fifth.
“I’ve gotten the query, the place this match would rank in my view or what I might suppose it might really feel prefer to win, and I believe by dropping right now, I’m getting a a lot deeper appreciation of what this match means to me than if I had gained any medal, proper,” Rahm mentioned. “I’m getting a style of how a lot it actually mattered. I’ve been very honored to signify Spain in lots of, many alternative occasions, and to not get this one achieved stings fairly a bit.”
How does Rahm really feel about going house empty handed and with out making any cash?
“Two of probably the most significant weeks in my profession is 2 occasions the place we make no cash,” he mentioned. “And I’ve mentioned that 1,000,000 occasions, and I’ll say it once more as a result of the Ryder Cup and this one are up there.
“(That is) completely different to the Ryder Cup. It’s completely different. It’s not a significant both. However I really feel prefer it’s virtually the final word prize representing your nation. And yeah, I imply, that’s what makes it so particular.”