Heading into the final day of men’s golf at the Paris 2024 Olympics, former ASU golfer Jon Rahm controlled his own destiny as he had the gold medal within his grasp for Spain. On Sunday, he opened up a four-shot lead with nine holes remaining and a remarkable front-nine 31, looking to win his first Olympic medal ever.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!But that was before he collapsed with a back-nine score of 39, leaving more questions than answers about what caused this gigantic capitulation.
At Le Golf National in France, the eventual winner, American Scottie Scheffler, was six shots behind Rahm and the Spaniard was cruising.
Starting off the day full of woes, Rahm shot a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 11th and was around 3-4 feet away from the hole. He would receive his first bogey of the day with the ball missing the hole coming back.
At No. 12, Rahm powered the ball directly into a bunker and missed the green. Trying to resurrect the blunder, he was unable to get a par from 15 feet away.
It only got worse for Rahm as he suffered a double bogey on par-5 14. Earlier on in the Olympics, the former Sun Devil had recorded an eagle and two birdies in three previous rounds.
He then squandered a 10-foot birdie on the 15th and an 8-foot par on the 17th.
With a 39 on the back nine, Rahm fell from No. 1 to a tie for fifth with Northern Ireland and golf superstar Rory McIlroy. He was two shots behind bronze winner Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) and four from Scheffler. Rahm shot a 70 and Scheffler scored a Olympic record 62.
After Rahm’s major falloff, Golf Channel’s “Golf Central” analyst Brandel Chamblee was brutally honest with what he just witnessed.
“I’m gonna put that down as one of the biggest collapses, chokes of the year,” Chamblee said.
Brandel Chamblee did not hold back on Jon Rahm's final nine holes at the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/51tWjd32Oq
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) August 4, 2024
If he doesn’t rule out retiring from his Olympic career, there is a chance Rahm can come back stronger and compete again in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
