Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey missed out on the chance of an Olympic bronze medal after falling in an extraordinary seven-man play-off following the final round at the Kasumigaseki Country Club near Tokyo.
Team GB’s Casey dropped out by bogeying the first additional hole, while McIlroy, of Team Ireland, made it to the third before being cut adrift by CT Pan of Chinese Taipei and Collin Morikawa, the American who last month won the Open at Royal St George’s.
It was Pan who came through for the medal, being doused in mineral water at the finish which rather summed up the limits of debauchery at these closely controlled Games.
“It makes me even more determined to go to Paris [for the 2024 Olympics] and try to pick [a medal] up,” said McIlroy, previously a sceptic about golf’s place at the Games. “It’s disappointing going away from here without any hardware. I’ve never tried so hard in my life to finish third. It’s been a great experience. Today was a great day, to be up there in contention for a medal.
“I’ve made some comments before that were probably uneducated and impulsive. I’m excited about how this week turned out and I’m excited for the future. It’s been a throwback to the good old days when we didn’t play for money. It was great, a really enjoyable week.”
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Also in the play-off were Mito Pereira, Sebastián Muñoz and Hideki Matsuyama, the home favourite and reigning Masters champion. All seven golfers had finished the fourth round on 15 under, two shots behind Slovakia’s Rory Sabbatini, who carded a ten-under-par 61 to take the silver medal having started the day in 17th.
Gold went to Xander Schauffele, the 27-year-old American who finished on 18 under. Having previously tied for second at the 2018 Open and 2019 Masters, Schauffele did not shy away from this being the biggest victory of his career.
“I’d like to say so, yeah,” he said with a smile before being asked about the nerveless four-foot par putt on the 18th that sealed victory. “I was just upset that it looked left-to-right from the top and right-to-left from the bottom. Honestly it was not a putt that [his caddie Austin Kaiser] and I were too sure about. It was helpful to see Hideki and Paul pop by the hole to see if it was wiggling one way or another.
“For me, I really wanted to win for my dad [Stefan, who is also his swing coach]. I am sure he is crying somewhere right now. I kind of wanted this one more than any other. First up, you are trying to represent your country to the best of your ability and then you add family stuff on top of that and, you know, I’m probably going to have a nice call with my grandparents tonight.
“I am sure they are back home, everyone is back home watching. I was feeling the love from San Diego and Las Vegas this whole time. I’m a little speechless right now, quite honestly.”
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The win has real family resonance beyond the obvious. Stefan was once an aspiring Olympic decathlete but his bid to make the German team ended on a fateful drive to training. His car was hit by a drunk driver, causing him a raft of injuries including the loss of sight in his left eye. Schauffele’s grandfather, also German, officiated at the Olympics, while his mother was born in Taiwan then brought up in Japan.
This week Schauffele waxed lyrical about his Japanese grandparents, who live in Tokyo but were unable to attend the course due to Covid-19 protocols. “I’m pretty sure they’re flipping out right now,” said Stefan, when asked about how the Japanese side of the family would be reacting.
Casey, for his part, was determined not to be too downhearted about his near miss, having been perhaps the biggest advocate for Olympic golf in this week’s field.
“This is my first Olympics and it’s one of the things I have witnessed a lot this week,” the 44-year-old Englishman said. “There is triumph and there is heartache, we have seen it in the village and in Team GB and now it’s on the golf course as well.
“What a day, to play in the final group of the Olympics with Hideki and Xander, the gold medallist, in Japan. It’s brilliant and that is one of the coolest rounds to be part of.
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“I wish I had my driver working a bit better and I struggled but I battled hard and I am proud of how hard I worked and how much I squeezed out of my game. I would have loved to have brought a medal home, not just for me but for Team GB. It would have been the ultimate. But the whole week has been phenomenal. I have made friends and I can’t say enough good things.”
Tommy Fleetwood, the other British golfer in action, finished joint-16th after a final round of 70. The women’s competition, featuring Mel Reid and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, begins at 11.30pm BST on Tuesday.
