Olympic golf: Tommy Fleetwood takes silver medal as Scottie Scheffler wins gold

Final rankings of Paris 2024 Olympics

In 19th place is Scheffler from the United States, followed by Fleetwood from Great Britain in 18th place, Matsuyama from Japan in 17th place, and Perez from France in 16th place. Coming in at 15th place are McIlroy from Ireland and Rahm from Spain.

Tommy Fleetwood from Great Britain won the silver medal in the men's golf event at the Olympics. He narrowly missed out on the gold medal, which was won by Scottie Scheffler from the United States in a thrilling final showdown.

During the final day in Paris, Fleetwood and Scheffler were both at 19 under par when they reached the 17th hole.

However, a mistake after failing to hit the green and hitting a chip shot too hard caused him to fall behind Scheffler. Scheffler, who shot an impressive nine-under 62, was leading as they headed into the final hole.

The 33-year-old man from England made a mistake on the 18th hole when he went for an aggressive approach shot, but he still managed to make par and win the silver medal.

Fleetwood, who played a fantastic round of 66, looked momentarily disappointed before a huge smile spread across his face as the crowd cheered his name.

Fleetwood expressed mixed emotions, feeling disappointed yet also surprised by his achievement of becoming an Olympic medallist.

I am still incredibly proud and happy about how the week turned out. I am proud of my performance today.

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan finished in third place with a score of 17 under par.

Victor Perez, who is a crowd favorite, ended up in fourth place with a score of 16 under par. He was closely followed by Rory McIlroy from Ireland and Jon Rahm from Spain, who finished just one shot behind.

One of the top players who has not won a major title, Fleetwood had his sights set on winning the most important individual title of his career - an Olympic gold medal.

Fleetwood began the last day of the tournament one stroke behind the leaders, Rahm and Schauffele.

Following the third round on Saturday, he mentioned that he was feeling restricted in his swings and expressed disappointment at the few opportunities he had to make birdies.

The event was consistent but not outstanding - however, Sunday began in a unique way.

An initial mistake on the first hole was easily corrected with a great shot for a birdie on the second hole, followed by two more birdies on holes three and four.

The issue was that Rahm and Scheffler, in particular, got off to an even better start.

Another bad shot on the seventh hole made it difficult for Fleetwood to win, but he was able to stay competitive by getting four birdies in a row between the eighth and 12th holes.

Rahm had a strong start with a five-under 31 on the first nine holes. But things took a turn for the worse in the second half of his round.

Fleetwood gained an advantage over Scheffler by making birdies on 16, following bogeys on 11 and 12 and a costly double on 14. This gave him a clear lead as Scheffler was finishing up on the last hole.

Fleetwood is skilled at playing at Le Golf National.

He emerged victorious at the 2017 French Open before becoming a key player in Europe's successful Ryder Cup campaign in 2018, alongside Italian golfer Francesco Molinari, forming the dynamic duo known as 'Moliwood'.

But, the well-known English player was unable to complete the task and struggled as Scheffler, who scored a six-under 29 on the back nine, continued his recent success in men's golf.

Fleetwood said that when he was a kid starting to play golf, winning an Olympic gold medal was never something they even thought about because it didn't seem possible.

"When you become part of the Olympics, everything changes and it feels incredibly unique."

Although I didn't achieve first place, receiving a medal while standing on the podium was one of the most incredible experiences I've had in my golfing career.

Ever since golf was included in the Olympics again in Rio 2016, there has been a debate about whether it belongs in an event that is considered the top achievement for many other sports.

Following four productive days at Le Golf National, including an exciting final round that lived up to expectations, it seems like the men's tournament has gained recognition and respect.

At first, the reaction was not very enthusiastic, but it has gotten better over time. Now, the field includes eight of the top 10 players in the world.

Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau did not make it to the event because they were outperformed by the four American players who ranked higher than them.

A lot of people who attended the event had positive things to say about it.

The lively atmosphere created by nearly 30,000 cheerful fans every day was a key factor, along with a leaderboard filled with top players, past champions, and a popular French competitor Perez, which kept fluctuating on the last day.

McIlroy, who had doubts before the Rio 2016 Olympics, mentioned that participating in the event was more enjoyable than competing in a major golf tournament.

"It was an incredible experience. Perhaps one of the top individual competitions I have participated in," stated the former global top-ranked player, whose hopes of winning a medal were dashed by a double bogey on the 15th hole, landing in the water.

Once the men's events have concluded for this year, there will be additional golf to look forward to at the Paris 2024 games in a few days.

The competition for women, with Georgia Hall and Charley Hull as the representatives for Britain, begins on Wednesday.