Tommy Fleetwood mastered the ‘toughest day so far’ in the Olympic men’s golf event to remain firmly in contention ahead of the final round at Le Golf National.
Fleetwood heads into Sunday just a stroke behind co-leaders Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele and will play alongside the pair tomorrow in an all-star three-ball, teeing off at 11.39am BST.
He kept himself in contention with a gritty two-under-par 69 to take his score for the Championship to 13-under and knows an excellent par save on the 18th could prove crucial in his pursuit of a medal on Sunday.
“A lovely feeling to par the last,” he said. “You never want to bogey the last so it’s an amazing feeling when you scrape a par like that and it was a beautiful putt to end the day which leaves me just behind the leaders and they’re clearly very good at golf, so as close to them as I can get tomorrow the better.
“I’m very, very excited. The leaderboard is amazing, the leaderboard you’d expect at the Olympics and it’s what the sport deserves really and I’m happy to be a part of it. I’ve been doing very well so far so we’ll see.”
Fleetwood, who again received great support on a course where he has twice triumphed, notched up his second birdie of the day on the 10th hole to go 13-under for the tournament in a bogey-free early performance.
Matt Fitzpatrick has withdrawn due to a thumb injury following the third round of the men’s Olympic golf competition.
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 3, 2024
His teammate Tommy Fleetwood goes into Sunday’s fourth and final round in third position (-13). #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/2Z5lv9CD08
He lost a shot at the 12th before bouncing back with birdie at 14 thanks to an exquisite bunker shot to sit nicely poised in third ahead of a grandstand finish, with 12 players within five strokes of the lead.
“A couple of players asked if this was my home country! They’ve been amazing with me,” said Fleetwood, commenting on the support he has received in Paris.
“It’s definitely an Olympic crowd, the atmosphere is amazing and I’ve always considered myself lucky with the support I get and the connections I make with people but these guys have been amazing.
“To be playing the Olympics, to be in contention and to get the support I have, it’s all the things you dream of. So if you can’t enjoy it then what’s the point?
“I think today was the toughest day for sure. The pins were tucked away and the wind picked up so I thought it was the toughest day. You can only play with what you’ve got and today I couldn’t go and shoot a 62. If I’d gone out today trying to shoot a 62 I’d be worse off but I’m only one shot off the lead. I need to just do my best tomorrow.”
Team GB’s other hopeful Matt Fitzpatrick was forced to withdraw with a thumb injury and Fleetwood offered his support to the 2022 US Open champion.
“I feel for Matt,” he added. The Olympics is special and only comes around every four years. I’m sure he’s gutted.”