Scottie Scheffler And Tom Kim's Different Tears, Jon Rahm's Choke Job, And A Great 'Loss' For Tommy Fleetwood

When golf returned to the Summer Olympics in 2016 it was hard to predict what exactly we were in for. Would it have a major championship feel to it? Would it be looked at as nothing more than an exhibition? Would anyone give it any attention? 

By no means did the golf in Paris have a major championship feel to it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't entertaining. One could easily argue that Scottie Scheffler's late surge on Sunday coupled with a meltdown from Jon Rahm and silver and bronze being handed out to Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama, respectively, made for the most exciting tournament of the year.

Forget trying to compare golf in the Olympics to any of the four major championships.  Golf in the Games is very much its own thing, and the fact that we only witness it every four years and players are competing for a ribbon with a piece of metal attached to the end of it makes it that much more special.

It would be so easy and on-brand for how split professional golf is at the moment to completely overlook the Olympics, but instead, they were impossible to ignore as it served as a perfect reminder that the sport isn't about playing for millions of dollars, but instead far more than that.

Scottie Scheffler And Tom Kim Share Tears For Two Different Reasons

Unique is the only word that can do justice to the experience Scottie Scheffler and Tom Kim shared on Sunday at Le Golf National.

Scheffler and Kim are very close friends, they even share the same June 21st birthday.  So, playing alongside one another in one of the final groups at the Olympics is an experience the duo will never forget. Both of their days ended with tears, but for very different reasons.

Scheffler reminded everyone that he is the best player in the world by firing a 6-under 29 on the back nine to win the gold medal. He turned into a puddle of emotion as the Star Spangled Banner played as he stood atop the podium.

While a majority of Scheffler's tears came from a place of pride for his country, you can't help but think that his buddy Kim didn't cross his mind when he was overcome with emotion given what was on the line for South Korean.

For those unaware, in South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve 21 months in the country's military before they turn 35. South Koreans can become exempt by winning a medal in the Olympics or a gold medal at the Asian Games. 

Kim ultimately finished eighth and four shots shy of forcing a playoff with Matsuyama for bronze. He was seen wiping away tears after shaking hands with Scheffler on the 72nd hole as the two shared a hug. Another video of Kim in the scoring area also showed him shedding tears.

Fortunately for Kim, time is very much on his side given that he only recently turned 22, meaning that he should have plenty of opportunities to become exempt from serving in the military. Unfortunately, winning a medal in the Olympics or winning gold in the Asian Games isn't exactly easy. Contending, let alone winning golf tournaments is incredibly difficult.

Kim knew Sunday was an opportunity to gain exempt status and erase that reminder that has to pop into his head on a daily basis that he could one day have to take a year-plus break from the game to serve his country.

Jon Rahm's Collapse In Paris Doesn't Compare To Rory McIlroy's At Pinehurst

Jon Rahm held a three-shot lead on the field and a five-shot lead over Scheffler with nine holes left to play in Paris on Sunday, yet somehow left France without any hardware at all. It was a collapse, and while it's easy to compare it to Rory McIlroy's at the U.S. Open earlier this summer given the recency bias, the two losses aren't even in the same arena.

Rahm looked like a man who forgot how to play golf on the back nine on Sunday in incredibly embarrassing fashion. Conversely, McIlroy was trying to break a major championship drought of more than 10 years and was just four holes away from snapping the unwanted streak on one of golf's grandest stages.

McIlroy played his final four holes three-over par and missed not one, but two putts inside four feet during the final round at Pinehurst. He was eight-under par standing on the 15th tee, yet Bryson DeChambeau went on to win the golf tournament at six-under.

Rahm losing out on a medal is something he'll have to live with for the next four years until he presumably gets another opportunity when the Summer Games come to the States in 2028. McIlroy has had to deal with being ‘the generational talent that can't win the big one anymore' for over a decade.

If McIlroy and Rahm ended their careers today, McIlroy going 10+ years without winning another major easily trumps Rahm giving away an Olympic medal by catastrophic levels on the most embarrassing scale.

Silver Is Better Than Gold For Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood is such a popular player in part because of the narrative surrounding him. The narrative isn't a great one, given that it is based on the fact that he has never won a major championship or a single PGA Tour event, but it's the hope that keeps his loyal fanbase around. It's a weird dynamic, but part of the Englishman's mystique is his inability to win despite constantly putting himself in contention in golf's biggest events.

Fleetwood stood on the 17th tee on Sunday in Paris tied with Scheffler at -19, and while for a moment it felt like we'd be gifted a playoff for gold, the typical Fleetwood who loves to finish runner-up arrived. A wayward drive on the lengthy Par 4 led to a missed green and a very disappointing chip shot and a bogey.

While Scheffler has earned the nickname of Mr. Inevitable given how often he finds the winner's circle, Fleetwood could be called that same nickname for the exact opposite reason.

Needing a birdie on the final hole to force a playoff with Scheffler, Fleetwood made the executive decision to not go pin seeking with trouble surrounding the final green, played his approach shot to the safe spot of long and left before managing to get up and down to secure his silver medal.

Tommy Fleetwood winning silver may have been better than him winning gold, in a round about way. Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Now, back to the narrative. Imagine if Fleetwood would have gone on to win gold. The headlines about Fleetwood pulling a typical Fleetwood and winning at the Olympics, on European soil, in a limited field would have been beyond exhausting.

Fleetwood is still just the guy who can't get it done in the big moments instead of the guy who owns a gold medal but zero major championship trophies.