Xander Schauffele continued his great form at Le Golf National to remain the gold medal favorite at the Paris Olympic Games but Tommy Fleetwood and others are set to push him all the way over the weekend rounds.

American Schauffele shot a 5-under 66 to move to 11-under for the tournament and now sits +200 as the betting favorite while tied for the lead with Great Britain’s Fleetwood and first-round leader from Japan in Hideki Matsuyama.

The gold medalist from the Tokyo Games and recent Open Championship conqueror is now the man to beat with 36 holes to play.

Fleetwood was brilliant on the way to a 64 on Friday with a final hole bogey the only blemish on his card while Matsuyama was left to rue a double bogey on the same hole to relinquish his hold on the solo lead.

Regardless of the tough finish for the pair they are in great position for a medal, including the fight for gold, as the trio of leaders sit two shots clear of Spain’s Jon Rahm at 9-under. Chances are your three medalists will come from these four players, but we’ve seen stranger things happen before.

South Korean Tom Kim, Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan – the bronze medalist from the Tokyo Games – and Belgium’s Thomas Detry are tied fifth, three shots adrift of the medal zone.

With the top three places the only ones that matter for medals, aggressive golf is expected over the final two rounds, meaning the likes of world No.1 Scottie Scheffler (-6, T10) and Rory McIlroy (-5, T13) are far from washed up yet.

The updated outright odds for the gold medal from BetMGM are as follows:

• +200: Xander Schauffele (-11, T1)
• +400: Tommy Fleetwood (-11, T1)
• +500: Hideki Matsuyama (-11, T1)
• +600: Jon Rahm (-9, fourth)
• +1100: Scottie Scheffler (-6, T10)
• +1600: Tom Kim (-8, T5)
• +3000: Rory McIlroy (-5, T13)
• +3000: Thomas Detry (-8, T5)
• +4000: Joaquin Niemann (-6, T10)

The updated Top 5 odds from FanDuel are as follows:

• -500: Xander Schauffele (-11, T1)
• -250: Tommy Fleetwood (-11, T1)
• -175: Jon Rahm (-9, 4th)
• -165: Hideki Matsuyama (-11, T1)
• +105: Scottie Scheffler (-6, T10)
• +180: Tom Kim (-8, T5)
• +250: Rory McIlroy (-5, T13)
• +260: Thomas Detry (-8, T5)
• +360: Joaquin Niemann (-6, T10)

DRAWS

Xander Schauffele +200 outright via BetMGM (-11, T1)

Here’s the deal… if you didn’t get on Schauffele before the tournament or before this round, you are taking a risk getting on now but I still feel strongly he is on his way to collecting a second gold medal. Clearly, he’s the man in form having won the Open Championship recently and with a gold from Tokyo already in his pocket there is less pressure on him over the final 36 holes. Schauffele ranks second in SG: Around the Green, fourth in SG: Approach and 13th in SG: Putting thus far. He will be looking to hit more fairways off the tee to really take this thing home. The “value” is with Fleetwood and Matsuyama but the winning form is with Schauffele.

Guido Migliozzi +500 for Top 5 via FanDuel (-7, T8)

One of my longshot choices before the tournament was this Italian given his previous winning form at Le Golf National. As players get aggressive chasing for medals you will find a player or two at decent Top 5 odds and he’s one of them. Yes, you can get plus money for Kim and Detry who are already in the top five but the value remains with Migliozzi who won the Open de France a few years ago on this track.

FADE

Scottie Scheffler +1100 outright via BetMGM (-6, T10)

Seeing Scheffler at juicy odds (for him) while sitting just five back could seem very tempting for bettors out there but I have my doubts in the current top-ranked player in the world. The reason is simple, and one we’ve seen before… he’s not putting well enough. Ranked 49th in the 60-man field in SG: Putting is not going to bring home a medal. The other side of the coin here is he ranks first in Driving Accuracy and third in SG: Off-the-Tee so if you think he can figure out the flatstick, he could make a charge. I just don’t think he will. Shootouts like this don’t suit Scheffler if he’s not dialed in on the greens. Even if you like him, the +105 for Top 5 isn’t sexy, but might be the better play.