All week long at the men’s Olympic Golf competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics, pro golfers struggled to define the importance of winning a gold medal. But Scottie Scheffler showed just how meaningful it has become during an emotional medal ceremony at Le Golf National.
Scheffler, in a performance that will long be remembered, pulled off an incredible comeback on the back nine Sunday, shooting a 62 to claim the Olympic gold medal. Despite being the World No. 1, it was a surprise because he was barely in the conversation heading into the final round.
Scheffler has had a lot of big moments this year, winning his second Masters title among six total victories. But none of those Ws brought Scheffler to tears — in the public eye, anyway — as his gold-medal win did Sunday evening.
Following the end of the competition, Scheffler and the two other medal winners — England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who won silver, and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who claimed bronze — walked out in front of the cheering crowd and took their places on the podium.
Once the gold medal had been placed around his neck, Scheffler stood tall as the U.S. national anthem played over the loudspeakers, and the American flag was hoisted high at Le Golf National.
TV cameras rolled as Scheffler began mouthing the lyrics to the anthem, and as the melody peaked, he began to cry, covering his eyes as the emotions of the moment took over.
After the ceremony, Golf Channel asked Scheffler where his stunning comeback ranked among his long list of golfing accomplishments.
“It’s pretty high up there. Anytime you’re able to represent your country is pretty special. This was a fun week and it was great representing the USA, and I’m proud to be going home with a medal,” Scheffler said, continuing later, “I’m not big on comparisons or anything like that. I’m just going to enjoy this moment. Like I said I take tremendous pride in representing my country, and I’m very proud to be going home back to the USA with a medal.”
During his post-round press conference, he expanded on why he got emotional during the medal ceremony.
“I would say, first and foremost, I’m proud of the country that I’m from; I’m proud to be an American,” Scheffler said. “You know I got emotional the other night watching the gold medal ceremony for the [U.S.] women’s gymnastics [team]. It’s the same thing like when you go to a sporting event and you hear everyone in the stands sing the national anthem, it’s a pretty special thing to be a part of… it was just very emotional being up there on stage as the flag is being raised and sitting there singing the national anthem. It’s definitely one I’ll remember for a long time.”
