Olympic Leaderboard Bunched: Medal Playoffs Could Be Exciting And Strange

Americans trying to stay awake for the men’s Olympic golf conclusion will be challenged by the lack of crowd energy, a soft and dull design, lethargic pace of play and a minimalist broadcast.

But, as Sean Zak notes for Golf.com, the bunched leaderboard means we could get some excitement.

Playoffs are coming … right? They have to be. This leaderboard is so bunched, it feels like we’ll have our first playoff for a medal, as there was none at the 2016 Games in Rio. How crazy is it that both men’s and women’s fields at the 2016 Olympics finished with a solo first, a solo second and a solo third place finisher?

With 27 players currently within five shots of third place, on a course where it has been difficult to create separation, we will almost surely see a playoff for a medal on Sunday. If it happens it’ll be sudden death, with the highest ranking medal up for grabs being decided first. The dream scenario? A four-way tie for first place.

This potentially wild scenario did not occur in Rio after the course magically separated the field and all medals were decided in regulation play.

Xander Schauffele (-14) currently leads by a stroke over 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama (-13) in a rematch of their Masters duel in April, as Rex Hoggard explores for GolfChannel.com. They tee off at 11:09 am JST.

Seven players are within four and twelve are within five strokes of the lead.

Golf Channel goes live in the United States from Kasumigaseki Country Club beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET, with the leading threesome going off a 10:09 p.m. ET.