Ex-Arizona State Golf Prodigy Takes the Lead in Olympic Gold Hunt

Seven of the leading 10 qualifiers for the Paris Games were within five shots of the lead.

SAINT-QUENTIN, France — Golf’s Olympic event has gained fervor as an enthusiastic crowd propelled the competitors into the final round of the men’s competition, with medals at stake.

Former Arizona State University star Jon Rahm and Team USA’s Xander Schauffele were tied for the lead on Saturday. They held a one-shot advantage over Tommy Fleetwood. Meanwhile, Hideki Matsuyama salvaged a tumultuous day, and Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy remained in striking distance for gold.

“I’m very, very excited to play,” Fleetwood said. “The leaderboard is amazing. It’s like a leaderboard that you would expect at the Olympics and probably what the sport deserves.”

Schauffele turned a two-shot deficit into a one-shot lead with an eagle on the par-5 14th, just as Rahm bogeyed the hole ahead. Rahm responded with a 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th green, setting up a dramatic final round.

Rahm finished his day with a 5-under 66, while Schauffele scored a 68 with a strong back-nine performance.

They stood at 14-under 199, matching the 54-hole Olympic record Schauffele set while winning gold at the Tokyo Games.

“I’m slow out of the gates here,” Schauffele said, adding with a smirk, “Fumbled my first hurdle and had to try and steady the ship coming in.”

Schauffele aims for another gold, rounding off a stellar month that included wins at both the PGA Championship and British Open.

Only two Olympic golf events have been open to fans since the sport’s reinstatement: Rio 2016 and Paris, where golf has historical roots dating back to the French Open in 1906. “It might have been new in golf, but it is the Olympics,” Rahm stated. “I think the crowd knows it is, and we are all aware of what’s at stake.”

Fleetwood, tied with Schauffele and Matsuyama at the start of the third round, held his ground with a 69 and ended just one shot behind. Matsuyama recovered from a rough start, posting a 71, and was three shots back, alongside Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard, who carded a record-tying 62.

“Sixty-two, that was something up there on the leaderboard,” Schauffele noted, acknowledging Hojgaard’s performance.

Scheffler and McIlroy hold promising positions, with medal prospects still in sight. Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, moved up the leaderboard with three birdies in a six-hole stretch but fell back slightly with a bogey on the 17th.

McIlroy, who famously expressed his dedication to winning bronze during the Tokyo Games, remains in medal contention without a major title in a decade. “I’m going to have to probably shoot my lowest round of the week to have a chance at a medal,” he stated.

As golf transitions from its traditionally slower pace to an Olympic sprint, Schauffele stands ready for the challenge.