American Xander Schauffele part of the spine of the ‘double bogey’ was removed in the 16 that separated him from the triumph in the Masters to be crowned the new Olympic golf champion in the field of the Kasumigaseki Country Club of Saitama with a demonstration of competitiveness with which he resisted the pressure of his rivals.
Schauffele presented this Sunday a card with 67 shots to finish with a total of 266, one less than the Slovak Rory Sabbatini, who took the silver after a spectacular tour with 61 impacts, and the Taiwanese CT Pan won the bronze in an exciting tiebreaker with six other players.
The American was able to obtain what one day his father, Stefan, took away from a drunk driver in Germany the option of competing in a decathlon at the Seoul’88 Games. He lost the sight in one eye, had to undergo several surgeries and decided to go to San Diego, where the new Olympic champion was born 27 years ago, who relieves Justin Rose, winner in Rio 2016.
He lacks a ‘big’ in his record. He has been close more than once, the last one at this year’s Augusta Masters, but a mistake on the 16th hole prevented him from finishing with the victory, which went to Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.
He arrived in Tokyo as one of the favorites in the absence of the first two players in the world ranking, the Spanish Jon Rahm and his compatriot Dustin Johnson, and although he started quietly, with a 68, he made the jump on the second day with a 63. He resisted on Saturday with a 68 and in the final round he knew how to maintain his advantage.
In the first half of the tour he was full. He did not give his rivals a choice. Four birdies on holes 1, 2, 5 and 8 allowed him to set the title on track. He missed in the 14th, but a great approach blow in the 17th allowed him to lower his score again and ensure the victory that he sealed with the pair in the last, as Rory Sabbatini, a Slovakian nationalized in 2019 after being born in South Africa, had given a tremendous blow on the table with an incredible 61, the best lap in the history of a Games.
Schauffele acknowledged that he “probably” felt more pressured than at other times in his career. “I really wanted to win for my father. I’m sure he’s crying somewhere right now. He wanted this win more than any other,” he said.
“First, you try to represent your country as best as possible and then you add the family stuff and, you know, I’m probably going to have a nice call with my grandparents tonight. I’ve felt the love of San Diego and Las Vegas all over. this time, “said the American.
Ten ‘birdies’, an ‘eagle’ and a ‘bogey’ marked out a tremendous journey by SabbatinI to push him towards silver, an unexpected prize due to the large number of players that he had ahead of him at the beginning of the day. “Yesterday was a very bad day. I was left out, so not even trying to compete for a medal was on my mind, so I came out in a more relaxed frame of mind and told myself that I could be aggressive to see what happened.” he admitted.
“It was one of those days when everything started to fall into place and I had to remind myself that I didn’t have to look forward and that I had to enjoy the moment so as not to put more pressure on myself,” said Sabbatini, who trusted that this medal “open fire to make the goal grow in Slovakia, especially among the youngest”
The rest of the applicants starred in an absolutely spectacular fight. Some fell, among them the Mexican Carlos Ortiz (78, +7), who fought for the podium from the first day, and others joined the fight, such as the Taiwanese CT Pan, the American Collin Morikawa and the English Paul Casey, who had to play the bronze in a tiebreaker with the Chilean Mito Pereira, the Colombian Sebastián Muñoz, the Japanese Hideki Matsuyama.
The podium was to be played on holes 18, 10 and 11, and so on. The Japanese said goodbye with Casey on the first hole of the playoff after bogeying; the others held out in the second after signing the pair again; and in the third McIlroy, Pereira and Muñoz fell from the fight before the birdies of Pan and Morikawa.
In the room, the Taiwanese was successful in making the pair and took the bronze against the winner of the recent British Open to sign another great comeback in a tournament that started with a 74, very far from the upper zone, and that went on to reach the fight for bronze after making 63 this Sunday with six birdies ‘and an’ eagle ‘without failure.
Running out of a medal cannot tarnish the great tournament of Seba Muñoz and Mito Pereira, who resisted like the greats in a tremendous fight in the last round, settled with 67 impacts.
The Chilean Joaquín Niemann was on the verge of entering that fight. He finished tenth tied with Australian Cameron Smith with 270 strokes, after presenting a card of 65 to continue Saturday’s 66 in a magnificent recovery.
The Mexican Abraham Ancer, another regular on the American circuit, finished fourteenth with 272 after doing 68, Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas progressed to sixteenth (273) and the other two components of the US Navy, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed maintained their progression to finish with 65 and a total of 274, in 22nd place.
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