“PRO” FILE – OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER AND LYDIA KO
Is there anything Scottie Scheffler can’t do when it comes to golf? The man who is playing Tiger-esque golf in 2024 achieved something that Woods will likely never do in winning a gold medal at this year’s Olympic Games event, firing a 62 to overcome a faltering Jon Rahm and claim the top spot on the podium.
It is no stretch to say Scheffler is matching, and in some ways surpassing, what Woods did at the peak of his career. The difference, of course, is that Woods did it over a period of many years while Scheffler is just finding his stride. Time will tell if he can keep up his blazing pace.
For Lydia Ko, her Olympic gold medal also meant qualification into the LPGA Hall of Fame, perhaps sports’ most difficult hall of fame to qualify for. After an impressive start to her career, winning twice on the LPGA Tour as an amateur — the first time as the youngest player ever — she also became the youngest to win a major championship and to ascend to No. 1 in the world. However, after 14 victories in four years, she began a series of equipment, caddie and coaching changes that left her adrift for a number of years. Fortunately, she found her way to the top of the game again starting in 2021 and has since won five more times in addition to her Olympic victory.
Ko has the distinction of being the only player, male or female, to hold a gold, silver and bronze medal in Olympic golf. One would be foolish to bet against her attaining another in 2028 at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
