Scottie Scheffler struggled at Le Golf National on Friday, which hurt his chances of winning a gold medal on the Olympic greens.
After Thursday’s round, the top-ranked golfer, who had great hopes going into the competition, was still quite close to leader Hideki Matsuyama. But from the start of his second round of play, he struggled, and it ended disastrously at the seventh hole.
Spectators watched as Scheffler, who is often extremely skilled off the tee, misplaced his drive into the deep rough, which he only found with the help of fellow professional Rory McIlroy. He confidently attempted to reach near the green despite being told a hard lie, but he made little progress, much to his evident dismay, which led to an acrimonious discussion with caddie Ted Scott.
During the live transmission, golf channel analyst Brad Faxon was blunt, saying, “I think the divot went further than the ball.” Scheffler faced a lengthy bogey putt that slid past the hole after a difficult third shot that resulted in a less-than-ideal fourth. This forced Scheffler to record a double-bogey six on his card and tumble out of medal contention.
Scheffler dropped down to two under par for the competition, nine shots behind leader of the clubhouse, Xander Schauffele, and Matsuyama. His score was raised to four under by birdies at 10 and 11, but he still has a long way to go if he wants to win a medal and depart Paris five strokes short of the leaders.
Over the previous three months, Schauffele, Scheffler’s Team USA partner, has been on fire, winning both The Open and the PGA Championship. Having won in Tokyo three years ago, he is currently in a good position to win his second gold medal at the Olympics.
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For Scottie Scheffler to be competitive at the Olympics again, he has a lot to climb.
For Scottie Scheffler to be competitive at the Olympics again, he has a lot to climb. (Photo: Getty Images / John Macdoughall/AFP)
After shooting six under par in the first round, he improved to five under par on Friday, tying for first place. The leader of LIV Golf, Jon Rahm, is also in the running after shooting five under to tie for the lead in the competition.
The Spaniard and Tommy Fleetwood of Britain are tied for third place.
As the event nears its halfway point, the other American competitors, Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark, are currently positioned at four-under
and two-over, respectively.
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