Tommy Fleetwood from Britain is still firmly in the race for an Olympic medal, with several top players crowding the leaderboard as the men’s golf event heads into its final round.
Starting Saturday’s third round tied for the lead, Fleetwood finished with a two-under 69, securing the bronze medal position by the day’s end.
The 33-year-old English golfer delivered a competent performance, although it wasn’t particularly remarkable, as his competitors capitalized on numerous birdie opportunities.
He finds himself just one shot behind Spain’s Jon Rahm, who managed an impressive five-under 66, along with defending champion Xander Schauffele from the United States.
Rory McIlroy, representing Ireland, trails the leaders by four shots after also shooting a 66.
Fleetwood commented, “My swing isn’t quite in sync. It’s not where I’d like it to be, but I’ve managed it effectively all week.
“When you can’t quite perform to the best of your ability, it can be frustrating.
“However, patience is a vital trait that everyone needs at times, and I demonstrated that, which I was pleased about.”
Fleetwood notably led Europe to Ryder Cup victory in 2018 at Le Golf National—the location for the upcoming Paris 2024 event—and received considerable support as he reached 13 under in total.
Schauffele, the recent Open champion, shot a 68 and nearly seized the outright lead with a birdie attempt that came up mere inches short on the 18th hole.
The two will tee off last together again on Sunday’s final round, joined by former world number one Rahm.
American Scottie Scheffler, currently ranked as the top men’s player globally, is tied with McIlroy at 10 under.
McIlroy, age 35, has positioned himself as a contender for his first Olympic medal by minimizing errors made earlier in the tournament.
“It was a really solid round of golf,” remarked McIlroy, who narrowly missed out on the podium by finishing tied fourth in his inaugural Games at Tokyo 2020.
“It would have been great to have squeezed out a couple more shots on the back nine.
“But tomorrow, depending on how the leaders perform, I will probably need to achieve my lowest round of the week to have a chance at a medal. That’s the objective.”
Irish teammate Shane Lowry is at five under after shooting a 66 as well.
However, Britain’s Matt Fitzpatrick struggled on the back nine and later withdrew due to a thumb strain.
The Englishman, making his debut in the Olympics, finished seven over par after the turn, including a quadruple-bogey eight on the difficult 15th hole.
He encountered the water hazards surrounding the green twice, ultimately submitting a score of 10-over 81, leaving him five over overall.
