Rio Olympics Recap: Rose Is Golden

The Olympic leaderboard was about as good as it could get: Rose, Stenson, Kuchar, Cabrera-Bello, Garcia, Watson, Reed. Virtually all the top names in the field had risen toward the top midway through the final round on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.

And when Justin Rose of Britain birded the 18th hole to edge Henrik Stenson of Sweden for the gold medal, the tournament that had begun with such controversy and negativity ended in just about the best way possible.

There was no getting around that the top four golfers in the world took a pass, leaving a stain on the Games – and the sport. And when some lightweights commanded the top of the leaderboard on Thursday and Friday, things were looking mighty grim.

But a 72-hole tournament is a marathon, not a 100-meter dash. Slowly but surely, the cream rose to the top, leading to Sunday's duel between Rose, No. 12 in the world, and Stenson, at No. 5 the highest-ranked golfer in the men's field. Matt Kuchar of the United States took the bronze medal, telling reporters afterward, "I've never been so happy with a third-place finish in my life."

Rafael Cabrera-Bello of Spain tied for fifth, with countryman Sergio Garcia tied for eighth alongside Bubba Watson of the United States. Patrick Reed tied for 11th and the remaining American, Rickie Fowler, tied for 37th. (Just another woeful effort for Fowler, who probably will be a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup team but maybe shouldn't be.)

It will be interesting to see how history treats the men's Olympic golf tournament. A success because the top golfers in the field battled to the finish? Or a failure because Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy all bailed out, after talking so enthusiastically about participating?

There's also the question of how it will affect fantasy play, especially with the PGA Tour playoffs starting next week. Most of the top names will take this week off at the regular-season-ending Wyndham Championship (we'll touch on that more below). But for all of the golfers who participated in Rio, the thrill of being in the Olympics likely will make it hard to jump back into "regular" play right away. There's bound to be a letdown, even with the playoffs starting, and that absolutely has to be a consideration when formulating lineups.

What a crazy season it's been for golf, all because of the crunched schedule to accommodate the Olympics. Was it worth it? Ask 10 golfers, you might get eight different answers. Ask 10 gamers, and most would say it was worthwhile, that it's been an exciting season, and there are still five more tournaments to go.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler

Both Olympians are in the Wyndham field (the other two Americans aren't). After the Wyndham comes three straight weeks of playoff events. Fowler still needs to impress Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, but he could easily do it in the playoffs before the captain's picks are due. For Reed, he also played the two weeks prior to the Olympics, at the PGA Championship and then the Travelers. So if he plays all the playoff events, that's seven weeks in a row until the break before the Tour Championship. Seven weeks in row is crazy for anyone, but for someone who's already locked up a berth at East Lake and likely in the Ryder Cup? What's the purpose? Maybe Reed and Fowler plan on taking a week or two off in the playoffs. Otherwise, I'll be fading Reed and Fowler, though Fowler has simply been playing poorly and a fade was already warranted there. None of the other top golfers who were in Rio will be at the Wyndham.

Ryan Moore

Moore won the John Deere Classic on Sunday, reversing course on an underperforming season. Moore hadn't finished in the top-10 since March, but he suddenly has vaulted from 62nd into 23rd place in the point standings, putting himself in good position to reach the Tour Championship. Moore now has a win three years running and in four of the past five, and not even some of the very best golfers can say that. Of course, the Deere field was weak even by its own standards. Somehow, that probably doesn't matter to Moore's owners. He's in the field for the Wyndham, a tournament that provided his inaugural tour win back in 2009.

Ben Martin

Martin entered the week at 121st in points, certainly a dicey position to be in. But he wound up runner-up to Moore, vaulting to 59th in the standings to ensure himself entry not just into the playoffs, but into two and possibly more playoff events. Martin didn't need the playoffs to keep his card; he already had that based on his win in the 2015 Shriners. But the Deere will improve his confidence at just the right time of year, and his lights-out putting during the week hopefully caught the eye of gamers.

Wesley Bryan

Bryan was the new flavor of the month entering the Deere, having just won his third Web.com Tour event of the season to elevate to the PGA tour. But even a jump to the lowly Deere is a large one, and Bryan did well to secure a top-10. But he showed on the weekend that he's not quite there yet, following up a 66-64 start with twin 70s. He surely did better than we expected. This week at the Wyndham, the class of the field improves dramatically. Let's take stock again next Sunday.

Johnson Wagner

Wagner stood at No. 125 in points heading into the Deere, but he's traditionally played well there, and it showed. Wagner tied for fifth to move to 109th in the standings, guaranteeing he'll make the playoffs and keep his card. And it's not out of the question that another good finish will move him into the top 100 after the Barclays, which would get Wagner into the Deutsche Bank.

Whee Kim

Kim has taken Wagner's position at No. 125, that after a season-best T3. Kim started the week at No. 154. There' s still no time for Kim to relax, however. Traditionally, only a few golfers outside the top-125 get into the playoffs in the final week, but all Kim needs is one to boot him to the Web.com Tour Finals to try to keep his card.

Chris Stroud

Stroud entered the week barely inside the top 125, at 123. He stepped to the par-5 17th tee on Friday comfortably inside the cutline. Stroud then shot a 7 and, for good measure, bogeyed the 18th to miss the cut and, worse, fall to 132nd in the standings. He's got another shot this week at the Wyndham, but simply making the cut at the Deere could've been enough to punch his ticket to the playoffs.

Gary Woodland

Woodland is in no such danger of missing the playoffs; he should be around for at least three events. But he could've secured a berth in the Tour Championship with a good finish in an incredibly weak field. Instead, Woodland trunk-slammed, falling from 40th to 42nd in the standings. Someone withl all the talent in the world continues to underperform.

Jerry Kelly, Daniel Summerhays and Robert Streb

All three were highly touted and highly owned in DraftKings, and all three cratered, destroying lineups far and wide (I picked Kelly, but wasn't sold on the other two). It's just another example of how hard it is to predict these things, even when there's significant history that suggests otherwise. Kelly and Summerhays combined for four top-10s and six top-20s the past three years at the Deere, and they missed the cut. Streb had shown some signs of life lately after more than a year of horrible play. But his supporters forgot one thing: He's Robert Streb.