SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France: Golf is finally getting some Olympic buzz from the big, noisy gallery, and it has the star power to compete in the final stages of the competition. man with a medal at the end.
Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm tied for first on Saturday, one ahead of Tommy Fleetwood. Hideki Matsuyama saved the day. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy were so close that the gold was just out of reach.
Seven of the top 10 qualifiers for the Paris Games were within five shots of the first.
“I'm really excited to play,” Fleetwood said. “The lineup is amazing. It's like a line-up you'd expect at the Olympics and it's probably good for the sport.”
Schauffele seemed to be running from position to position and lost ground until he made two mistakes on one shot in a matter of minutes. He hit a 4-iron to 25 feet for eagle on the par-5 14th, before Rahm three-putted for bogey on the hole before him.
Rahm responded with a 35-yard birdie putt over the 17th green. There is a lot of action, and the same could happen on Sunday.
Rahm, playing on the last major stage this year before returning to LIV Golf, finished with a 5-under 66. 32 on the back nine for 68.
They were at 14-under 199, tying Schauffele's 54-hole Olympic record when he won gold at the Tokyo Games.
“I'm slow out of the gate here,” Schauffele said. “I broke the first barrier and had to try to stop the boat coming in.”
He paused with a smirk before adding, “Like a reference to the Olympics there?”
Schauffele is aiming for another gold that will cap off the most amazing month in both fields.
The crowd was also loud and boisterous on a more pleasant day. Fans have only been allowed to watch Olympic golf twice since returning to the program — Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Paris, which has a history of hosting golf. The French Open was held in 1906.
“It might be new to golf but the Olympics,” Rahm said. “I think the public knows that, and we all know what can happen.”
Rahm also knows it's not a two-man race.
Fleetwood, who began the third round tied for the lead with Schauffele and Matsuyama, only made three birdies but collected a 6-foot par on the par-par 18th. He had a 69 and was one shot behind.
Matsuyama recovered from a poor start to a 71 and was three back with Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard, who collapsed in a tie with a 62. That tied the 18-hole record at the tournament. of Le Golf National who matched his twin brother, Rasmus, in the game. French Open. Identical twins, same number.
That caught Schauffele's attention as he previewed the medal round.
“Sixty-two, that was something on the front line,” Schauffele said. “Didn't really see that. Will try and keep in touch. You should be in a position to win the back nine and try to fall back on previous experience and make it.
Scheffler and McIlroy are in line for a medal, maybe even gold. Scheffler, the world No. 1 player and the most dominant golfer of the last two years, battled back with three birdies on six holes on the back nine.
He fell behind with a chip that missed the green on the 17th leading to a bogey. And he was about to lose another shot when a drive into a deep bunker to the right of the 18th fairway forced him out of the water. But he hit a wedge to save a 67.
He is four back with Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (66), Tom Kim of South Korea (69) and Thomas Detry of Belgium (69).
“I feel like I haven't been at my best the last few days, but I've been doing enough to stay there and stay competitive,” Scheffler said. “Around this course you can get hot. You can see that Nicolai did a very good round today, and I need something like that tomorrow if I want to keep a medal.”
McIlroy lost in the seven-man semi-final for bronze at the Tokyo Games and later famously said he “never tried hard enough to finish third”. If there is no major for 10 years, he gets the medal, and the color depends on him and the five players ahead of him.
“I have to shoot the lowest round of the week to win a medal. That's the goal,” said McIlroy.
A sport that moves slower than a marathon turns into a sprint. Schauffele can appreciate that.
