Brandel Chamblee offers searing take on Jon Rahm’s Olympic collapse

The final round of the men’s competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics had it all: an exciting leaderboard and incredible drama down the stretch, with 54-hole co-leader Jon Rahm opening up a four-shot lead with nine holes to play with a sizzling front-nine 31, only to fade away with a head-scratching back-nine score of 39.

Scottie Scheffler ultimately prevailed to win the gold medal, rallying from six shots behind and making birdie on four of his final five holes to post a bogey-free round of 62. That was enough to claim victory by one shot over Tommy Fleetwood, who won silver, and finish two shots ahead of Hideki Matsuyama, who claimed bronze.

It was Rahm’s collapse, though, that ignited the most critical chatter on Golf Channel’s “Golf Central” immediately following the conclusion of play.

“That was just about the wildest back nine that you could ever imagine, ever predict,” analyst Brandel Chamblee began. “John Rahm with a four-shot lead in the gold position, Scottie Scheffler six back, making the turn from the gold position, and wins gold, without a playoff. One shoots 29, John Rahm shoots 39.

“I’m gonna put that down as one of the biggest collapse— chokes of the year,” he continued. “Probably right up there with Rory McIlroy coming down the stretch at the U.S. Open.”

After making six birdies on his opening 10 holes on Sunday, Rahm endured a brutal four-hole stretch on Nos. 11-14 at Le Golf National, carding two bogeys and a double. He bounced back with a birdie on the par-3 16th, but closed with two additional bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18.

“Jon Rahm looked so solid the first three-and-a-half rounds, leading the field in fairways hit, leading the field in driving distance, leading the field in greens in regulation,” Chamblee said. “But the demon that has plagued him over the last about year is that double cross. And we saw it a little bit at the 8th, but it visited him notably on the back nine in several key instances.

“And then of course, you have the odd three-putt here or there,” he continued. “So, losing a four-shot lead, not even medaling, by the way, with a four-shot lead.”

After the round, Rahm expressed his heartbreak with Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard.

“For about 97 percent of the week has been fantastic,” Rahm said. “The crowd has been great. The week has been great. The golf course is fantastic and it’s just a, there’s basically a four-hole stretch where I could say I wasn’t happy. Besides that, it’s been a really good tournament. There’s still a lot to be proud of, but this is something that’s gonna sting for a while.”

Hoggard asked Rahm if coming up short made him even hungrier to try again in four years.

“It’s too early to be saying that,” he said. “You know, I was saying all week that I would know how much this means when the tournament was over, and sometimes, you know when you win, but you definitely know when you don’t win, and it just stings on a different emotional level.

“So it hurts right now more than I expected, and it feels — it’s hard to let my country down in that way,” he continued. “Had it under control and just let it go. That’s all I can say. I don’t know, I’m assuming there’s gonna be motivation for the future, but I said, right now, it’s more painful than anything else.”

If Rahm qualifies for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, he may well have a chance to make the podium again. The host course is Riviera, where he won the Genesis Invitational in 2023.