American Scottie Scheffler—the #1 pro golfer in the world and winner of six tournaments on the PGA Tour this year—came from behind today in the Olympic Games near Paris, France, by shooting a blistering 62 to win the gold medal at the Le Golf National club, defeating England’s Tommy Fleetwood by one stroke, giving him a silver medal, and defeating Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama by two strokes, giving him a bronze medal. It was a standard format golf tournament of four 18-hole rounds of individual play totaling 72 holes.
After over 100 years of no golf in the Olympics, the sport returned in 2016. It has had to try to improve its standing as an attentive event, since the best players did not compete at first. But this year was different, with a stellar field that included Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Spain’s Jon Rahm, both of whom are star players. Rory said after play today, “It’s honestly one of the best golf tournaments I’ve ever been involved in. This was golf’s coming-out party in the Olympic Games.”
McIlory added, “It’s not a fifth major, but it has a lot of weight on a personal level.” Rory continued, “I still think that the Ryder Cup is the best tournament we have in our game, pure competition, and I think this has the potential to be right up there with it.”
Concerning the victory presentation, Scottie Scheffler said, “It’s emotional sitting on the podium and hearing your national anthem.”
Scottie Scheffler is the most prominent Christian on the PGA Tour and a member of the PGA Tour Bible Study, which I cofounded almost 60 years ago. Scottie will surely be honored with the Player of the Year award on the PGA Tour at the end of this year.
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