Rory McIlroy just missed out on a bronze medal for Team Ireland after an incredibly tense play-off.
It began with seven players competing for the bronze after US golfer Xander Schauffele took gold and Rory Sabbatini representing Slovenia took silver.
As The Irish Times report, McIlroy narrowly missed a birdie putt on the 18th as he signed for a final round of 67, leaving him on 15 under par along with six others - including US Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and British Open winner Collin Morikawa.
The play-off consisted of a sudden death knockout played across the 11th, 18th and 10th holes. After two holes, the field was cut down to just five as they battled it out for the final medal.
McIlroy had a chance for a birdie on the third hole to stay in contention, but his shot just missed the hole.
After going down to Pan Cheng-tsung of Chinese Tapei and USA's Colin Morikawa, the Taiwanese golfer took the bronze on the fourth and final hole.
#Golf
Rory's putt just slips by 😔 what a great effort @McIlroyRory ☘️☘️#TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 @GolfIreland_— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) August 1, 2021
Meanwhile, Shane Lowry had a disappointing final day ending in joint 22nd, finishing with a score of 10-under.
Elsewhere, for Team Ireland there was disappointment for boxer, Kurt Walker, who lost out in his quarter-final bout with USA’s Duke Ragan by the finest of margins, a 3-2 split decision after a pulsating contest.
In athletics, there were fantastic performances from Eilish Flanagan and Michelle Finn in the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase heats, with Flanagan producing the run of a lifetime to shave an incredible six seconds off her Personal Best time, while Finn produced her fastest time at a major championships.
It was a day of mixed results for the eventing team after today’s Cross Country performances as they lie in 8th position on a score of 161.00 heading into tomorrow’s final phase of Show Jumping.
'I never tried so hard in my life to finish third' - @McIlroyRory on his 'brilliant' Olympic experience, which just came up short of a medal.#tokyo2020 #RTESport #golf #olympics
📺 Watch - https://t.co/lLKXNhKPkF
📱 Updates – https://t.co/Dp4ZmIlWr1 pic.twitter.com/s4oVVJBPf3— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 1, 2021
