This is a brief overview of how my “picks” performed in this weeks tournament.

The Olympic Men’s golf competition has nowhere near the status of a major championship, but the thrill and novelty of standing on a podium with a medal around one’s neck seem to belie that fact.

Xander Schauffele has been knocking on the door of a major championship win for several years and yesterday’s (depending on your time zone) gold medal win may be the start of something truly great for this elite golfer.

Schauffele was one of the four golfers I suggested could win the Olympic gold, along with Rory McIlroy (lost playoff for bronze medal); Abraham Ancer (T14); and Patrick Reed (T22). Collin Morikawa, the player I listed as who should win, shot a final-round 63 and was the last of seven players in that Bronze playoff – won by C.T. Pan.

A player who I thought would not perform well given the high Japanese expectations, was Hideki Matsuyama. I was wrong as Matsuyama – despite faltering in the last two holes – also qualified for the Bronze playoff. This bodes well for Matsuyama, who seems to have been around forever, is only 29 and his best golf could be in the next 5 to 10 years. Finally, the player I called to win – Corey Conners (Canadian bias?) – shot a final round 65 to finish two strokes out of the Bronze playoff.