One of the top players of his generation seemed destined for Olympic gold until intense pressure mounted on the back nine of the final round.
As 2024 comes to a close, SI Golf’s writers and editors reflect on the year’s most shocking stories.
It had already been a tumultuous year for Jon Rahm.
In December 2023, the Spaniard stunned the golf world by joining LIV Golf after previously pledging his loyalty to the PGA Tour for nearly two years. Despite winning four times on Tour in 2023, including the Masters, the former world No. 1 struggled to find his form in 2024.
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Rahm placed T45 in his title defense at Augusta National, missed the cut at the PGA Championship, and withdrew from the U.S. Open due to a left foot injury. However, he started to regain his form in the summer, finishing T7 at the British Open and then claiming his first win of the year at LIV U.K.
With momentum on his side, Rahm entered the Olympics in high spirits.
With seven holes left to play at Le Golf National in France, the two-time major champion held a four-stroke lead over Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama, and was six strokes ahead of Scottie Scheffler.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
Rahm followed a front-nine 31 with a back-nine 39, not only losing the gold medal but also slipping off the podium entirely. Scheffler, who shot a final-round 62 with a back-nine 29, surged past Rahm to claim the gold at 19 under. Fleetwood took silver at 18 under, and Matsuyama earned bronze at 17 under. Rahm finished T5.
“I not only feel like I let myself down, but to not get it done for the whole country of Spain, it’s a lot more painful than I would like it to be,” Rahm said.
In his PGA Tour career, Rahm had held a 54-hole lead or co-lead 10 times and converted half of those into victories. The Olympics, however, might be the hardest loss to swallow.
Bob Harig: "The shocking fall-off and Rahm’s reaction afterward strongly indicated how much Olympic golf meant to him and underscored the event’s importance in the overall picture. On the same course where he defeated Tiger Woods in a Ryder Cup singles match—under immense pressure, before he became the Jon Rahm we know today—the moment was too much."
Jeff Ritter: "This was the summer we learned that Olympic golf is here to stay, because it clearly matters to the participants."
John Schwarb: "Between the tearful gold medalist Scheffler and Rahm apologizing to an entire country, there were no more doubts—Olympic golf had arrived."
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