Bronze: Kuchar wouldn’t have been in the Olympic field were it not for Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson’s deciding to stay home. Up until last week, the seven-time PGA Tour winner didn’t even know the Olympic format. But Sunday afternoon, he stood on the medal stand. Four shots out of third place to start the day, Kuchar raced up the leaderboard with four front-nine birdies and an eagle at the par-5 10th. Two clear of Thomas Pieters through 14 holes, Kuchar pulled away from the chase pack with birdies at 15 and 17. He missed out on a chance to set a new Olympic record of 62 and maybe force a playoff for silver when his birdie putt at 18 came up inches short. Instead, he tapped in for a round of 8-under 63 and the bronze medal.
Biggest disappointment: The sixth Australian on the Olympic list, Marcus Fraser got to Rio after four of his countrymen withdrew, and for three days it looked like he was going to leave with a medal. The 38-year-old opened with an Olympic record 63 Thursday and held the solo lead for 36 holes. Playing in the final group with Rose and Stenson, Fraser started Sunday alone in third, three shots clear of the field in the race for bronze. But Fraser’s run came to an end on Nos. 3-8 Sunday, when he sandwiched two birdies with four bogeys.
Rest of the U.S.: Bubba Watson made the turn in even par, birdied the 10th hole and closed with eight straight pars to shoot 1-under 70, finish 7 under for the week and tie for eighth place. One over through his first three rounds, Patrick Reed blitzed the back nine with six birdies to shoot 7-under 64 and finished tied for 11th. And finally, rather than challenging for a “backdoor medal,” Rickie Fowler moved the wrong way on the leaderboard, posting a final-round 74 to finish tied for 37th at even par.
Shot of the day: Rose’s gorgeous pitch to the 18th green that secured the gold.
Quote of the day: Rose, when asked how the reality compared to the dream: “The reality is incredible. The reality hasn’t sunk in yet. Firstly, it’s heavier than I expected, so I’ve kind of got a forward lean going on.”
