Olympic medals to be won (and lost!) on 'toughest hole I've ever played'

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – It was an innocent thought I had, as a golfer in the media center, wayyy without strings. Man, that finishing hole looks tough.

You really wouldn't want to the need 3 birdie on that hole to make a speaker, would you? I wanted to ask a player. The only person in front of me was Sami Valimaki, a 26-year-old Finnish boy. He quickly took it and headed in the other direction.

“It will be difficult to even make four from there if you go ahead,” said Valimaki. That is not true.

No hole at Le Golf National plays as hard as the finishing hole this week, a daunting prospect for a field of players chasing a medal this weekend. A bird can bring bravery. Par can hold on to brilliance. But all kinds of bogeys await. All kinds of bogeys are what we saw.

The 18th is a 471-yard par-4, with a water hazard across the front of the green. It's a must-have for any self-confident driver. Those who pull 3 woods tell you something – they are completely dialed.

That pilot shot is complicated, though. Because if it connects a little, the danger starts to play on the left side of the fairway. During a practice match, teammates Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark both had a drink and lost their match against Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele a few minutes later.

The reason the water is there is because the fold on the right side is too big. They are so dense that the balls they receive end up breaking through the grass and it is difficult to continue onto the green, over the water. We've seen a lot of players being forced to play hard, accepting that they'll be bogged down. Or worse.

Matthieu Pavon knows this course – and that hole – as well as anyone. The Frenchman has competed in six French Opens here, and now one at the Olympics. It's not going well, because of the 18th hole, which he played three times this week after playing it three times on Saturday.

“This is probably the hardest hole I've ever played because you have two very difficult shots to hit,” Pavon said. “First, like a tee shot, it's tough – if you miss in a critical situation you'll be in a tricky situation – and then the second shot, depending on where the pin is, is difficult, too.”

Tapio Pulkkanen knows that. The Finn was in good shape through 35 holes, six under and ready for a late tee time. When he got the rough off the tee, he chipped it forward, and it's still there. His third shot landed in the middle of the hazard. After dropping to the ground, his fifth shot did not clear the danger again. Another drop, then he continued with his seventh hit. Two putts for a quintuple-bogey 9 and a very early tee time.

It's not just that the hole plays hard, but that it has no match on the entire course. 18 plays a full quarter-stroke harder than any other. Viktor Hovland has doubled it. Jason Day has doubled it once. Hideki Matsuyama is somewhat controversial after doubling up on Friday. Entering the third round, only 12 birdies had been made, compared to 45 bogeys or worse.

All this puts us in the race for Sunday's medal. The course was very successful over the three days, and it will be the same on Sunday. At least through the 71 holes, where the players will turn to see the only grandstand in the area, with the Olympic rings under it. Beneath all that, of course, is a 40-yard-wide fairway. Hit it first. Then you can start thinking about the speaker.