Major champion forced out of Olympic Golf Competition ahead of final round

Team GB's Matt Fitzpatrick has been forced to withdraw ahead of the final round of the Olympic Golf Competition at Le Golf National in Paris.

Fitzpatrick, 29, informed tournament officials he was bowing out of the Olympics due to a thumb injury. 

The 2022 US Open champion opened with a 2-over 73 but got himself back in contention for a chance at a medal with a brilliant 7-under 64 on Friday.

But the Englishman's thumb strain seemingly ruined his chances on moving day as he slumped to a dismal round of 10-over 81.

He made three bogeys on the front side at 2, 5 and 8 to go out in 39 before making his sole birdie of the round at the par-4 10th.

But Fitzpatrick would go on to make a bogey at 12, a double at 13, a disastrous quad at 15 and a bogey at 17 to come home in 42. 

Fitzpatrick confirmed his WD immediately after the third round, a decision no doubt made easier given he was 19 shots off the pace and 18 shots out of the medals.

The two-time PGA Tour winner was 5-over par for the tournament and down in T53 in the 60-man field. 

Fitzpatrick is ranked 22nd in the world but has endured a tough season on the PGA Tour to date with just three top-10 finishes.

His last win around the world came on the DP World Tour at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in October 2023. 

Despite the blow for Team GB with Fitzpatrick having to WD from the Olympic Golf Tournament, there is still hope of a gold medal.

That's because Tommy Fleetwood is in solo third and just one shot behind leaders Jon Rahm (Spain) and defending champion Xander Schauffele (USA) heading into the final round.

Fleetwood will join Rahm and Schauffele in the final round at 12.39pm local time on Sunday. 

Should Fleetwood go on to win the gold medal, it would mark a second gold for Team GB in the last three renewals following Justin Rose's feat at Rio in 2016.

Here's a full list of final round tee times.

GolfMagic is running live leaderboard and text updates of the Olympic Golf Tournament.

Golf is one of 32 sports to feature at the Olympic Games in Paris.

This year marks the third consecutive Games that golf has been part of since its reinstatement in 2009.

The winner of the tournament gets a gold medal, with the runner-up talking silver and third landing bronze.

Any ties for places on the podium will result in a sudden-death playoff.