After three scintillating rounds, it’s still all to play for as the hunt for Olympic Golf medals looks set to continue today.
A dramatic third round saw several of the world’s best players move into contention and it could be argued that the current leaderboard is the strongest of the year.
Sitting atop the leaderboard on a joint score of -14 are two of the best players in the world Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm.
Tommy Fleetwood sits alone in third, two strokes behind with Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler just some of the names who will tee off today within four shots of the lead.
Ahead of what could be the very best golf day of the year, here is everything you need to know.
Schauffele Aims to Cap Off Memorable Few Months With a Second Olympic Gold
Up until this year, Xander Schauffele’s greatest career achievement was the Gold medal that he won back in the Tokyo games. Regarded as the best player never to have won a major, Schauffele has completely flipped that script on its head and he headed to Paris with both the 2024 PGA Championship and Open Championship in his trophy cabinet.
Playing simply sublime golf, Schauffele made his move to the top of the leaderboard yesterday with a stunning eagle on the par 5 14th and from there he would nurse his way home to ensure that he would tee off today in a share of the lead.
Despite the first half of 2024 belonging to Scottie Scheffler, Schauffele is undoubtedly playing the best golf in the world at the moment and he will be hoping to cement his status as the best player in the world with a second Olympic Gold medal.
Rahm Aims to Fly The Spanish Flag High
Throughout the course of his career Jon Rahm has made no secret as to how proud he is to represent Spain and despite being a two time major winner, you get the sense that if Rahm was to win golf for Spain it would go down as one of his greatest achievements.
Despite being consistent since he moved to LIV Golf, Rahm hadn’t been able to win but that all changed last week when he emerged victorious at LIV Golf UK which had followed on from his best major showing of the year at the Open.
After a tough start to 2024, Rahm seems to have ignited his competitive spark and it wasn’t a surprise that he made a significant early move up the leaderboard.
With four birdies on the front nine, Rahm kept his momentum through the trickier back nine and a birdie on the 17th ensured that he would end the day tied at the top.
When Rahm gets on a roll, he has proved in the past that he can be unstoppable, for those following back in Spain they will certainly hope that is the case today.
Fleetwood Feels Pressure, But Does Enough to Remain Third
Of all the players finding themselves at the top of proceedings, the player with the most to prove is Tommy Fleetwood. Yet to win a major or on the PGA Tour, an Olympic medal would be a career highlight for the Englishman and at times yesterday you could really tell.
Unable to get the birdie putts to drop, Fleetwood was able to limit the mistakes and a respectable round of 69 certainly keeps him in the hunt today.
Starting one shot behind both Rahm and Schaufelle, the Englishman knows that he will need to play his best golf if he is to hang onto both Rahm’s and Schaufelle’s coattails. A medal of any colour would make this a week to remember.
Beware The Chasers
The setup at Le Golf National has been generous. With the Olympic organisers opting for maximum entertainment, the pin locations have been kind and that should continue today.
With the ability to shoot low, anybody starting today within five strokes of the lead will have massive hopes of still securing themselves a medal.
Starting three shots off the lead is the Dane, Nicolai Hojgaard. A classy ball striker, one of the most talented youngsters in golf showed exactly why he is so highly regarded with a magnificent round of 62. Posting seven birdies and one eagle, Hojgaard’s display yesterday was the best of the week. Carrying a boatload of momentum into today, he could be one to watch with real interest as he looks to make his charge.
Starting ahead of the leaders is the world number one Scottie Scheffler. Four shots off the pace, Scheffler has a chance to post the clubhouse lead and set the mark for the rest to follow.
As has been his way this season, Scheffler has been slow and steady through his first three rounds with the mistakes being kept to a minimum.
Yesterday was his best showing with the Texan shooting a 67 to keep himself in the medal hunt. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, expect fireworks from the Masters Champion as he bids to snatch the gold away from his teammate.
Another man to make his way up the leaderboard yesterday was Rory McIlroy. The world number three has been loose all week, but with the course at his mercy McIlroy was able to blitz it as he picked up five shots and moved into medal contention.
Over the years, McIlroy has shown he can charge up the leaderboard through the final few rounds and all of Ireland will be hoping that is the case once more today.
Round 4 Betting Preview
With the race for the medals still being wide open, if you fancy placing a bet, there is plenty of value that can be found. Here are the top ten when it comes to the betting.
XANDER SCHAUFFELE - 8/5
JON RAHM - 15/8
TOMMY FLEETWOOD - 5/1
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER - 14/1
RORY MCILROY - 18/1
HIDEKI MATSUYAMA - 22/1
NICOLAI HOJGAARD - 30/1
TOM KIM - 40/1
LUDVIG ABERG - 55/1
THOMAS DETRY - 55/1
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
