Tommy Fleetwood’s heartwarming Olympics goal after missing out on Team GB gold | Golf | Sport
Tommy Fleetwood may have missed out on a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics but the English golfer didn’t let that dampen his spirits after bringing home silver for Team GB at Le Golf National.
He was in contention from round two onwards, having tied for the lead at 11-under-par with Scheffler and Matsuyama. Jon Rahm then took control in the third round, shooting to the top of the leaderboard on -14, but the Spaniard fell away on the final day.
Fleetwood concluded his Sunday fourth-round effort on five-under, but there may have been some regrets from his side after he shared the lead with two holes to go – only to finish with a costly bogey at the 17th.
Scheffler beat him to the gold by a single shot after shooting a 62 at nine-under, which included six birdies. Hidoki Matsuyama of Japan took the bronze medal.
While he would have been disappointed to miss out on bringing home an unexpected gold for Team GB, the PGA Tour golfer achieved his goals set out before the tournament started.
Fleetwood held up a whiteboard sign which contained empty squares underneath headings such as ‘My nickname is’ and ‘My favourite Olympic sport is’, with the golfers asked to fill in the blanks.
The 33-year-old kept it simple, revealing a previously unknown passion for watching the swimming during the Games, while also expressing his desire to ‘win a medal for Team GB’, and the Stockport-born star can now claim to have accomplished what he set out to do in France.
“I honestly never had this as a dream as a kid but it definitely became one in recent years,” Fleetwood posted on his X account.
“Golf is a beautiful sport. The passion, the emotion and the energy felt out there today was magical thank you!! I couldn’t be prouder to contribute to @teamgb’s medal count and represent the nation this week.
“Being on that podium with Scottie and Hideki will be a memory etched in my heart forever.”
The heartwarming post featured an image of Fleetwood posing with his medal, grinning from ear to ear as he stood on the podium in his Team GB teamwear, and he said afterwards he was overjoyed just to represent his country.
“If you’re not going to enjoy those times, then you know, you’re not going to get much happiness from the game of golf,” Fleetwood said. “I thought it was great and I enjoyed competing against the best players in the world for something that is so sought after and so cherished.
“This isn’t going to happen again now for four years. You’re always aware of that. Every single athlete that’s here … put their heart and soul into their chosen craft and get the opportunity to do this every four years. To be a part of it, I’m unbelievably proud.”
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