Smoother swings: Gavin Green in action at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, Paris. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: Golfer Gavin Green arrived in Paris with plenty of optimism and will return home with a spring in his step too.
The 31-year-old carded his best result in his third Olympic Games when he settled for a joint 33rd position in a highly charged men’s competition at the treacherous Le Golf National which ended on Sunday.
Although a podium finish is wishful thinking considering the strength of the 60-player field, Gavin had wanted to finish under par on the Albatros course that he had termed as the ‘’beast’’.
And he did just that by ending the four-round competition with a three-under 281 to share the 33rd spot with Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay.
Gavin also has done creditably well among the Asians as he was placed fifth out of the 13 that competed.
He was placed 47th in his debut at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro edition but finished a lowly 57th position in Tokyo 2020.
The final round on Sunday saw Gavin battling with the course rather than his competitors to make his way up and had scored five birdies and two bogeys to stay at four under overall, a score that would have placed him at joint 30th spot.
However, the 17th hole that he had struggled with the whole week, where he could only manage a solitary par, struck a blow as he dropped a shot to move to three under overall.
“It was an up-and-down day, but it was solid overall. A little up and down, slow start, but you know it’s a good recovery, and to finish under par on this golf course, I’ll take it,” said Gavin.
“There are a few things that I wasn’t happy about, like my driving. So there’s some things to work on but it was quite a successful Olympics.”
Gavin had started with a three over 74 in the par 71 course on the first day but scored identical two-under 69s in the remaining three rounds which speaks volumes about how the Malaysian has grown into a more mature professional since his last outing in Tokyo.
Having held his own at the Le Golf National in an illustrious field led by eventual gold medallist and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States, Gavin will be heading with confidence to continue his journey in the European Tour where he would be playing at the Czech Masters from Aug 15-18.
“My main focus going forward for the rest of the year is to try and build some consistency, not just making cuts but achieving top 10s and top 20s,” Gavin said.
“I’ve been close to that a couple of times and just haven’t been able to finish off the way I wanted to. It’s just about continuing to put in the hard work and carrying on grinding.”
Meanwhile, the high octane fourth round saw Scheffler make a fabulous charge by equalling the course record of nine-under 62 to finish overall on 19-under 265 to edge Briton Tommy Fleetwood who scored five-under 65 and a 18-under 266 total.
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan was Asia’s best performer as he claimed bronze with a 17-under 267 as he staved off a late rally by Victor Perez of France who scored eight-under 63 for the final round and settled for a 16-under 268 for fourth spot.
