Xander Schauffele has revealed the score he believes will secure him the gold medal on the final day of the Olympic golf event at Le Golf National, with the American tied for the lead heading into Sunday.
Xander Schauffele has been in and around the lead throughout the first three rounds in Paris this week, as he looks to win a second gold medal after his triumph in Tokyo three years ago.
Schauffele claimed that he had not had his best form in the early stages of the event, and he got off to a slow start on Saturday. But he was able to fight his way back to share top spot with Jon Rahm heading into the final round on Sunday.
What has perhaps not been entirely surprising is the disparity between the best and worst scores during the event, with 19 shots separating Nicolai Hojgaard’s 62 on Saturday – which tied the course record – and Matt Fitzpatrick’s 10 over par third round.
Xander Schauffele suggests final round score which will win him Olympic gold medal
With that, it is hard to predict what score is going to get the job done on Sunday, but Schauffele believes that he may need to secure a slice of history if he is going to return to top spot on the podium.
“It’s got a big-stage feel to it. Depending how the wind is; Højgaard, sort of monkey see, monkey do out here. You have really good players in this field and everyone just saw a 62,” he said.
“Obviously the leaders, shooting a 62, would probably get the job done, I imagine. But if you’re in that mid, ‘6, ‘7, ‘8 (66, 67, 68) range, feel like you’re going to shoot something low, you’re going to have a really good chance of getting up there and getting on that podium. See what happens out here with the world’s best. You just have to try and do what I do and leaderboard watch when I can.”
So many names now in the mix
What Hojgaard’s round has done has shown that so many players are still in the mix for the medals ahead of the final 18 holes. The Dane started nine shots behind the lead, and he has now cut that gap to just three shots.
But Schauffele is surely the man to beat, particularly after he emerged from the pack to win The Open Championship at Royal Troon last month. Schauffele produced a flawless iron display on his way to shooting a 65 that got him across the line and landed him a second major title.
He will be taking nothing for granted with the likes of Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler around him, but he is the one player in the field who knows what it takes to win that gold medal.
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