Rory McIlroy's Olympic Games medal hopes ended by double bogey as Scottie Scheffler secures gold
Rory McIlroy’s hopes of picking up an Olympic Games medal in Paris were ended by a double bogey at the 15th hole – an error which came after a stunning round up to that point had put him in contention.
The 35-year-old started the fourth – and final – day with two birdies in the first three holes and began his back-nine effort in sensational fashion, producing five consecutive birdies to sit in joint-third with Hideki Matsuyama and at one stage was only one shot off the lead, but a disastrous 15th resulted in McIlroy dropping back to -15, a score which he ultimately finished on in tied-fifth alongside Jon Rahm.
It’s another blow for the Northern Irishman after his decade-long wait for a fifth major title was extended at the recent US Open due to two missed routine putts and it’s the second consecutive Olympics where McIlroy has just missed out on a medal after he lost in a play-off for bronze in Tokyo.
World number one Scottie Scheffler picked up gold for USA after producing eight birdies in his final round 62 to finish on -19 while Tommy Fleetwood (-18) secured silver and Matsuyama (-17) sealed bronze.
Asked what a gold medal would do for his year before the Olympics got underway, McIlroy said: “It’s well documented that I haven’t won one of the big four in 10 years. It would probably be one of, if not the biggest [win] in my career for the last 10 years.
“The last time you guys (the media) saw me, I didn’t give a very good account of myself at Troon. I want to make sure I’m right where I need to be teeing off on Thursday.
“Again I’ve been asked this question a lot, where would an Olympic medal sit in sort of the hierarchy of my career achievements? It’s something I probably won’t be able to answer until when everything is said and done.
“I don’t know if anything will be able to sit alongside the majors. We have our four events a year that are the gold standard. But I think this is going to be, in time, right up there amongst that.”