Four feet between his golf ball and the cup was all that separated Xander Schauffele from an Olympic gold medal, and he couldn’t help but let his mind wander.
For Schauffele, it would be as special as a major, the championships that have eluded him far too many times, most recently at the Masters. For his father, an Olympic medal to share after his own aspirations ended in a horrific car accident that cost him his left eye.
Schauffele bowed his head and closed his eyes to snap back into the present.
“I just reminded myself, this is just a 4-footer,” he said Sunday. “All you have to do is make it. No big deal.”
He made it. It was a big deal.
Article originally posted on time.com
Plus, a bonus article: Xander Schauffele: Five things to know about the Olympic champion golfer
