For a moment there, it felt like the race for the gold medal was over early. Spain’s Jon Rahm stood on the 11th tee at 20-under par with a four-shot lead. He looked like Katie Ledecky cruising half a pool length ahead of the nearest competition in the 1,500-meter freestyle.
Two holes later Rahm was tied for the lead. Two holes after that he was out of podium position. When he ultimately walked off Le Golf National without a medal for Spain, the two-time major champion had a look filled with shock, anger, heartbreak and humiliation all rolled into one.
“I’ve been saying all week that I would know how much this means when the tournament was over,” Rahm said. “And sometimes you know when you win, but you definitely know when you don’t win it. And this just stinks on a different emotional level. It hurts right now more than I expected. It’s hard to let my country down in that way. Had it under control and then just let it go. That’s all I can say.”
Fresh off his first victory of 2024 in the LIV Golf UK event last week, Rahm steadily imposed his will on the men’s Olympic golf competition as the rounds wore on. He started the final round tied with Xander Schauffele for the lead and looked destined to prevail when birdies at 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10 had the rest of the field already thinking about silver and bronze.
But a three-putt bogey on 11 and another on 12 after driving into the fairway bunker coupled with birdies on both holes by grouping partner Tommy Fleetwood resulted in the lead being erased by a pair of two-shot swings – changing the whole tenor of the back nine with the medal chase thrown up for grabs as players attacked Le Golf National with abandon.
But Rahm’s biggest mistake came on the par-5 14th. After just missing the fairway, he safely laid up. But on his third from 172 yards, Rahm had all of France to the right but missed the green left into a tough lie in thick rough. From there he hacked it onto the fringe, overshot his chip and missed the 4-foot comebacker to make double.
“The biggest mistake swing-wise and process-wise was the third shot on 14,” Rahm said. “That’s where if I keep it right, two putt, I’m 18-under. You never know on the last few holes.”
“You know, the crowd has been great. The week has been great. The golf course is fantastic. There’s basically a four-hole stretch where I could say I wasn't happy.”
Jon Rahm
Instead, he was the chaser instead of the chased and he couldn’t recover to even force a playoff with Hideki Matsuyama for the bronze, bogeying the last two holes to finish tied with Rory McIlroy for fifth.
“It’s been … for about 97 percent of the week has been fantastic,” he said. “You know, the crowd has been great. The week has been great. The golf course is fantastic. There’s basically a four-hole stretch where I could say I wasn't happy.
“I don’t remember the last time I played a tournament and I felt this. I don’t know what the word is because, you know, I not only feel like I let myself down but to just not get it done for the whole country of Spain, it’s a lot more painful than I would like it to be.
“I was 20-under and four ahead on 11 tee and let it slip away. I did it myself. What it represents and what it could have been for Spain is what makes it more painful.”
With only five weeks this season to test his game on big stages against non-LIV competition, Rahm has repeatedly left disappointed. He was a non-factor in his title defense at the Masters, missed the cut at the PGA Championship, withdrew from the U.S. Open with a foot infection and came up short in a T7 finish at the Open.
He admitted that his Olympics collapse “is something that’s gonna sting for a while.”
“I don’t know, I’m assuming it’s going to be motivation for the future,” he said. “But as of right now it is more painful than anything else.”
Scott Michaux