South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout carded a bogey-free 7-under par 64 in the third round of the Paris Olympic Games golf competition on Saturday to give him a slim chance of a medal.
Bezuidenhout and Team SA teammate Erik van Rooyen are on 8-under par going into Sunday’s final round. Van Rooyen shot a 2-under par 69 in the third round after recovering from a bogey on the first hole and a double drop on the par-4 seventh hole at Le Golf Nataional.
Bezuidenhout and Van Rooyen are six shots adrift of the leaders reigning Olympic champion Xander Schauffele and Spanish superstar Jon Rahm, who are tied on 14-under par.
The South African duo need to shoot lights on out on Sunday and hope that the leaders falter to get somewhere near medal on the congested leaderboard.
American Schauffele, the world's form player after winning his maiden major titles at the PGA Championship and the British Open this year, carded a 3-under-par 68 in his third round.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout takes us through the ups and downs of playing at Le Golf National ⛳
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 3, 2024
After round 3, the two South Africans, Bezuidenhout and van Rooyen, are in a 4-way tie for 13th place 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦#Paris2024 #CloserToYourChampions pic.twitter.com/5MoFhZakLc
He struggled to find his best during a level-par front nine as Rahm surged into the lead, but eagled the par-five 14th hole at the same time as Rahm was making a three-putt bogey on the next green.
Schauffele will likely have to endure another dramatic final day if he is to win gold again, having edged to victory in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago by a single stroke.
Rahm started the day two shots off the pace but moved up the leaderboard with an excellent 66 to draw alongside Schauffele on 14-under for the tournament.
The two-time major champion made seven birdies, including a long putt on the penultimate hole to bounce back after his disappointment on the 15th.
Tommy Fleetwood is just one shot behind the leading duo in third place on 13-under after a 69 which featured three birdies and one bogey.
The popular Briton, who has never won a major title despite several near-misses, was not on top form but did enough to ensure he has a strong chance of clinching gold.
Hideki Matsuyama, tied for the overnight lead with Schauffele and Fleetwood, battled hard for a level-par 71 to remain on 11-under.
The Japanese is tied with Nicolai Hojgaard after the Dane powered through the field with a spectacular 9-under 62 to equal the course record.
The 23-year-old now jointly holds the record with three other players, including his twin brother Rasmus.
McIlroy, Scheffler in touch
Rory McIlroy produced his best round of the week so far with a 66 to stay in touch with the leaders, sitting level with world number one Scottie Scheffler on 10-under overall.
The Northern Irishman was bogey-free, holing a crucial 20-foot par putt on the 17th.
"I think tomorrow, depending on what the leaders do, I'm going to have to probably shoot my lowest round of the week to have a chance at a medal," said McIlroy. "That's the goal."
Scheffler bogeyed the 17th and then was in trouble down the final hole, but got up and down from 90 yards for par to boost his hopes of winning a medal on his Olympic debut.
"I'd like to be leading. I feel like I haven't had my best stuff the last few days but I've done enough to hang in there and stay in the tournament," said the Masters champion.
South Korean youngster Tom Kim, who would earn an exemption from military service with a medal, finished strongly to be tied for sixth with McIlroy, Scheffler and Belgium's Thomas Detry.
World number four Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, Australia's Jason Day and Chilean Joaquin Niemann are all at nine-under, five shots off the lead.
Additional reporting by AFP