Paul Casey and Rory McIlroy miss out on golf bronze after seven-way play-off

Paul Casey and Rory McIlroy saw their hopes of an Olympic golf medal disappear in a play-off fight for bronze at Kasumigaseki Country Club.

Great Britain hopeful Casey and Irish star McIlroy were among seven players who finished tied for third after 72 holes.

Casey and Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama were the first to bow out, and McIlroy departed when he missed a birdie putt at the third extra hole.

It left Open champion Collin Morikawa and Chinese Taipei’s CT Pan to battle it out for bronze, and it was Pan who prevailed with a par at the fourth additional hole.

American Xander Schauffele took gold, finishing on 18 under par to become his country’s first Olympic golf champion since Charles Sands in 1900.

But his one-shot victory came only after he withstood a fierce onslaught from Rory Sabbatini, whose final round of 61 was an Olympic record.

South Africa-born Sabbatini, who now represents Slovakia, hit an eagle, 10 birdies and two bogeys during an action-packed round.

But Schauffele held his nerve, shooting a final round of 67 to win gold.

For Casey, it was ultimately a hard-luck story, and he said: “There is triumph and there is heartache. We have seen it in the village and in Team GB and now it is on the golf course as well.

“I wish I had my driver working a bit better, and I struggled, but I battled hard and I am proud of how hard I worked and how much I squeezed out of my game.

“I would have loved to have brought a medal home, not just for me but for Team GB. It would have been the ultimate. But the whole week has been phenomenal.

“I have been in multiple play-offs in my career – none as big as that – but it is no different as a three-man play-off.

“I was with Hideki and Rory and just had to worry about my own golf. Again, I did not hit the tee shot I wanted to, and made bogey.”

Casey’s Great Britain team-mate Tommy Fleetwood shot a final round of 70 to finish tied for 16th, while Ireland’s Shane Lowry was tied 22nd.

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