By Hiroki Noda,
Japan's Hideki Matsuyama claimed the bronze medal Sunday in the Paris Olympics men's golf tournament won by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States.
The 2021 Masters champion shot a 6-under 65 in the final round for a 17-under 267 total at Le Golf National to become the first Japanese male to win an Olympic golf medal.
Matsuyama, a nine-time winner on the U.S. PGA Tour, joined Tokyo Games women's silver medalist Mone Inami in winning a golf medal for Japan.
The 32-year-old had six birdies, four of them in a five-hole span from the second, without a bogey but failed to birdie any of the course's three par-5 holes.
At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Matsuyama was among the losers in a seven-way playoff for bronze when Xander Schauffele of the United States claimed gold.
"I missed a medal in Tokyo, so I'm glad I got one," Matsuyama said. "But I still have mixed feelings because the gold medalist was next to me on the podium."
"No spectators were allowed in Tokyo due to the coronavirus pandemic, so it was sad. I really enjoyed playing here this week in front of an enthusiastic gallery."
Scheffler shot a bogey-free 62, with just 29 strokes on the back nine, to tie the course record on the way to his first Olympic gold medal.
Scheffler finished the tournament at 19 under, one stroke clear of British silver medalist Tommy Fleetwood.
Scheffler took the outright lead when he rolled in a 17-foot putt on the par-4 17th for his fourth consecutive birdie and sixth on the back nine.
"I saw that (Jon) Rahm had gotten to 20 under, and so I kind of changed a little bit my mentally to just really try to do my best to move my way up the leaderboard," Scheffler said, adding that he had been trying to be patient until then.
"At one point I didn't even really know if I was in contention or not. I just tried to do my best to make some birdies and start moving up and maybe get a medal or something like that just because Jon is such a great player," he said.
"I was fortunate to execute some shots down the stretch, and the putt that I hit on 17."
Host country favorite Victor Perez electrified the crowd with a 63 to finish fourth.
Rahm, who shared the lead after Saturday's round, dropped a shot on the final hole to finish in a tie for fifth.
Matsuyama began the day three shots off the pace and put himself in a tie for second, behind Rahm, when he birdied the par-4 10th hole.
He had a number of birdie opportunities down the stretch but was only able to par his final six holes.
Keita Nakajima, the other Japanese player in the field finished in a tie for 49th at 3 over for the tournament after a final-round 74.
Related coverage:
Olympics: Hideki Matsuyama struggles but still in contention in men's golf
Olympics: Last-hole meltdown leaves Matsuyama sharing men's golf lead
Olympics: Hideki Matsuyama leads by 2 after men's golf opening round
