Jon Rahm has been accused of suffering one of the ‘biggest chokes’ of the year after blowing a final round lead at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Spaniard had a four stroke lead after 10 holes on Sunday afternoon, only to capitulate in the closing stages as Scottie Scheffler came through to take gold.
The American finished 19-under par, one shot clear of Team GB’s Tommy Fleetwood, while Hideki Matsuyama took bronze after ending 17-under.
Rahm however, could only take fifth place on 15-under after his 71 at Le Golf National.
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The LIV Golf player cut a disconsolate figure afterwards, and the Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee was merciless in his assessment of the 29-year-old. Chamblee, a vociferous critic of the Saudi-backed tour, implied Rahm would rue his failure to take gold.
“Scottie Scheffler six back on the turn and wins gold without a play off,” he said. “One shoots 29 and Jon Rahm shoots 39. I’m going to put that down as one of the biggest collapses, chokes of the year.”
Chamblee even referenced the heartbreak of one of Rahm’s Ryder Cup team-mates, citing the misery that Rory McIlroy suffered in Pinehurst in June, when he missed a short putt on the final hole to hand victory to Bryson DeChambeau. He added: “That was right up there with Rory McIlroy at the US Open.”
Discovery+ is the new home of the Olympics. The streamer is set to broadcast 3,800 hours of sport live from Paris.
Sports fans can get Discovery+ for £3.99 a month until the end of 2024 via Amazon Prime's video channels. This also comes with an Amazon Prime 30-day free trial.
Rahm himself also pulled no punches with his self-assessment, after enduring four bogeys and a double bogey in the final eight holes. “I not only feel like I let myself down but to just not get it done for the whole country of Spain, it's a lot more painful than I would like it to be,” he said.
"I've gotten the question, where this tournament would rank in my opinion or what I would think it would feel like to win? And I think by losing today, I'm getting a much deeper appreciation of what this tournament means to me than if I had won any medal, right.
"I'm getting a taste of how much it really mattered. I've been very honoured to represent Spain in many, many different events, and to not get this one done stings quite a bit."
Chamblee, 62, has previously made no secret of his disdain for LIV Golf, so his willingness to take aim at Rahm will not come as a surprise. The American, a former professional golfer himself, has previously said that playing 54-hole tournaments was adversely affecting rebel players when they competed in major events.
“It is a relatively small sample size given LIV has been playing for less than three years,” he said. “But it’s safe to say that LIV Golf, has been detrimental to the competitiveness of their careers when they compete at the highest level.”
