France, Olympic golf began with Hideki Matsuyama holding an early lead with a stunning 8-under 63 at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
Despite the intense heat, the event drew close to 20,000 passionate spectators.
In front of a sizable and boisterous home crowd on Thursday, Victor Perez of France celebrated the opening tee shot of Olympic golf by repeatedly pumping his fist over his head.
At Le Golf National, Hideki Matsuyama proceeded with his business in silence, finishing with an 8-under 63 score and a two-shot lead. Following closely behind was none other than Xander Schauffele, who was playing as if he hadn’t missed a beat despite being ten days removed from his Open Championship victory.
The unexpected sight was found beyond the fence lines, as some 20,000 fans braved intense heat to trek across uneven ground and witness abnormally low scores resulting from the course being softer due to overnight rain.
Matsuyama recorded six birdies through ten holes and maintained a clean card with a 15-foot par save on the 17th. Matsuyama lost in a seven-man playoff for the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Thankfully, Matsuyama stated, “I was able to keep the ball in the fairway and left myself with a number of opportunities to score.” Therefore, I’m happy with the outcome in that aspect. However, there are still many areas in which I could do better. I’m off to a wonderful start, and I aim to maintain this energy for the remainder of the week.
When storm clouds moved in, the first round slowed down, and lightning in the vicinity caused two delays. After having to withdraw off the course while on the 18th tee, Schauffele came back to tie the score, but then there was yet another delay.
Amid the stop-and-start racing, Carlos Ortiz from Mexico was fighting for the lead. On the par-3 16th hole, he teed off into the water, making a double bogey and a bogey at the conclusion. All he could manage was a 69.
Tom Kim of South Korea, Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, Joaquin Niemann of Chile, and Scottie Scheffler, the tournament favorite and winner of the Masters, were all at 66.
For Kim, 22, winning an Olympic medal would mean he would not have to serve in South Korea’s mandatory military. Despite saying it’s not on his mind, he would still have the opportunity to compete in the Olympics at least once more.
Kim remarked, “I’m not at all concerned.”
Scheffler’s family was present in full form, including Bennett, his 3-month-old baby, who was startled awake by the raucous applause when he birdied the first hole.
I was a little unsure about what to anticipate. It’s been rather quiet around the course for the past few days, according to Scheffler. However, it was enjoyable to perform for a sizable and appreciative audience. It was a great time. Certainly a larger number than I had anticipated.
Scheffler felt he could have shot lower, but he wasn’t too unhappy with his game. Ludvig Åberg and Rory McIlroy, who both shot 68, were his playing partners.
With their phones out to snap anything they could, the fans stood eight thick around the first green and down the second hole, following the lead group that had just finished. 41 players out of the 60 players in the field scored well. The key lesson, though, was found outside the boundaries.
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Collin Morikawa remarked, “The first tee was way more than a normal tournament for sure, and way more than you would ever see on a Thursday. It wasn’t quite a Ryder Cup.”
He was partnered with the other French player on the team, Matthieu Pavon. When the spectators saw Pavon on the bridge going to the first tee box, they started singing “La Marseillaise,” and players could hear their jubilant cheers from two or three holes away.
Even though Pavon only had one other birdie of the day in his round of 72, the noise level increased when he birdied the opening hole. In front of Pavon was the group that included Schauffele.
“This is pretty special,” Schauffele remarked, “when they were chanting Matthieu’s name and it was kind of echoing around the corner there.” “Obviously, Tokyo held a particular place in my heart, but there were no fans. The city was shut down. I was stranded in my lodging.
“It feels like I’m here for the first time, going out to eat dinner, seeing people everywhere, seeing fans everywhere chanting.”
For someone hoping to win another gold medal, Schauffele’s 65 was a solid start. It appeared easier than it was. On the opening hole, he chipped in for a birdie. On the next, he needed to get up and down for par. On the third hole, a par-5, he missed the fairway but still had a decent chance to make birdie.
He claimed that it wasn’t quite the ideal, striped beginning that a golfer dreams of. However, I’m content to sort of sail into this situation and escape worse than it could have been. A couple putts came in that I missed. However, Thursday is here. I’m not worrying too much about it.
