Scheffler Claims Olympic Gold in Paris
Among the many high-profile victories in Scottie Scheffler’s professional golf career, perhaps none has been as emotional as winning an Olympic gold medal on Sunday in Paris.
The former Highland Park standout closed with a sensational 9-under-par 62 in the final round to defeat Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood by one stroke.
With his wife, Meredith, and infant son, Bennett, there to cheer him on, Scheffler was tearing up during the medal ceremony afterward.
“I take tremendous pride in coming over here and representing my country,” Scheffler said in the post-tournament press conference. “It was just very emotional being up there on stage there as the flag is being raised and sitting there singing the national anthem. That’s definitely one I’ll remember for a long time.”
The emotions were not out of character for Scheffler, who was making his Olympics debut in the four-round event at Le Golf National and contributed to a massive medal haul for Team USA across all sports.
“Typically, I’m fairly emotional as it is. I think with this tournament, there wasn’t much time in between winning, and then you kind of just get ushered through everything,” he said. “I remember after the Masters this year, I took a bathroom break but really I just wanted to be by myself for a minute. I cried pretty good after that one.”
Scheffler’s 62 tied for the low round in the tournament with Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard, who carded the same score during the third round on Saturday but finished seventh.
It was the seventh victory this year for Scheffler, which included his second Masters crown in April and five other PGA Tour wins. He has finished among the top 10 in 14 of his 16 starts during the current season.
After his return from Paris, the world’s top-ranked golfer will begin the three-week FedEx Cup playoffs on Aug. 15 in Memphis, Tennessee. But first, he’ll take a few days to rest and recuperate.
“It’s been a long week. It’s been a challenging week,” Scheffler said. “I played some great golf [Sunday], and I’m proud to be going home with a medal.”
