SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, FRANCE: Xander Schauffele holds a share of the lead alongside Spain’s Jon Rahm ahead of the final round of the Olympic men’s golf competition as he looks to win back-to-back gold medals.
Related: Shubhankar gains ground as Fleetwood ties for lead in Paris
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The American arrived at his second appearance at the Games on the back of winning The Open Championship two weeks ago and has continued his excellent form at Le Golf National.
The Indian duo of Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar continued their listless showing. With an over-par round, Sharma slipped seven spots to T34 with a 2-under 211 (70, 69, 72), while Bhullar climbed four spots to be T48 at 2-over 215 (75, 69, 71).
Schauffele was part of a three-way share of the halfway lead at 11-under, but he shot a 3-under 68 that was highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 14th to outperform playing partners Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama on Saturday.
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Rahm, playing in the group ahead, produced his second consecutive round of 66 that included a seventh birdie of the day at the 17th to also reach 14-under.
Fleetwood of Great Britain will join the Major-winning duo in the final group on Sunday after he mixed three birdies with two bogeys to sit one stroke off the leaders.
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Nicolai Højgaard enjoyed the round of the week so far as he matched the course record of 62 with a bogeyfree total that featured an eagle and seven birdies.
That moved the Dane into a share of fourth on the leaderboard alongside Japan’s Matsuyama, who lost ground in his pursuit of an Olympic medal with a level-par 71.
World Nos. 1 and 3 Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, respectively, are both poised to make a Sunday run as they played their way into contention after contrasting rounds.
While Scheffler mixed six birdies and two bogeys in a round that fluctuated, McIlroy enjoyed his first flawless score of the week as he made five birdies for a 66.
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Thomas Detry of Belgium and Korea’s Tom Kim also sit at 10-under – four back – after they carded a pair of 69s. Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg, Australia’s Jason Day and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann round out the top 10 a shot further back.
