What I learned: Olympic letdowns

3 of the world's best spit bit in different ways; Stray Shots: POY drama? Not any more

Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm (Tracy Wilcox, Ben Jared/PGA Tour/IGF)

This is a first installment for the Daily Drive — a regular Tuesday column about what I gleaned from last week or maybe some stuff I learned on the way and just haven’t shared.

So let’s get started.

In an Olympic meltdown, the importance of the event leads to tragic consequences down the stretch, usually because of the event's significance.

For trained professionals who have never won, every time they get in the hunt is crucial. But for the season veterans, winners of multiple major titles, little should affect them as they march towards victory.

Let’s be clear: I’m not saying it can’t, but they usually have dealt with the situations enough that the enormity of the moment does not bother them to the point of failing or choking.

For Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, that is precisely what happened on Sunday at Le Golf National. When their moments arrived, they tanked, while Scottie Scheffler — like Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods often did — did his part and let others clear the path to victory.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt when you shoot 62 with four consecutive birdies down the stretch, but that is beside the point.

For Rahm, his collapse is not explainable. He had a four-shot lead with eight holes to go and then made some loose swings. Ultimately, however, it was a mental decision that cost him dearly on the par-5 14th hole. Instead of a safe play for par to the middle of the green, he went left, made double and his chances were done. A mental, not a swing mistake.

Since McIlroy lost the U.S. Open by one shot to Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst No/ 2, the Ulsterman has not been himself.  McIlroy won at Quail Hollow in May a week before the PGA Championship by five shots over Schauffele, yet since then Schauffele has won two majors and McIlroy none. McIlroy missed the cut at the Open Championship.

On Sunday in France after drawing as close as a shot out of the gold medal on the back, McIlroy dropped a gap wedge into the water on No. 15 in the heat of the battle. He started to question himself.

“I feel like I’ve been golf’s ‘Nearly Man’ for the last three years,” McIlroy said. “I obviously want that tide to turn and go from the ‘Nearly Man’ to back to winning golf tournaments. It’s all well and good saying I’m close and close and close.”

It makes you wonder how a generational talent like McIlroy can call himself “Nearly Man.”

For Schauffele on Sunday at Le Golf National, it was a failure to sustain his momentum around the turn, lost confidence on the day and eventually lost interest as an Olympic medal slipped away and his focus turned toward the FedEx Cup playoffs.

“Just trying to address it as quickly as possible, I have three really big tournaments coming up and my head is already — with five or six holes to play, I was already trying to figure out which direction I need to start moving the club to get back into a good place for the next three weeks,” Schauffele said.

I have never heard a player talk about future events and use any part of the event at hand to try to get ready.