Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama established an early lead in the men’s Olympic golf tournament, shooting a bogey-free opening round. However, defending champion Xander Schauffele of the United States was close behind, bringing his impressive form to Paris. The first day of competition at Le Golf National, situated southwest of the French capital, was met with an enthusiastic crowd that roared for the home pairing of Victor Perez and Matthieu Pavon. The 60 contenders will all play four rounds in a stroke play format at the venue that hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup.
The weather, a prominent topic of discussion during the Paris Games, significantly influenced the day’s play. Warm morning sunshine gave way to unsettled afternoon conditions, prompting two interruptions due to lightning risks. The first round concluded approximately an hour later than planned, around 7 pm (1700 GMT).
Matsuyama, the former Masters champion who narrowly missed out on bronze in a playoff on home soil three years ago, achieved an impressive eight-under-par 63. This placed Asia’s top-ranked player two strokes ahead of Schauffele, whose 65 featured seven birdies and one bogey. Schauffele, who won last month’s British Open, securing his second major title this year, attributed his strong finish to steadying his game after a rough start. “It’s Thursday so I’m not really sweating it too much,” he remarked to reporters.
Tied for third place at five under were Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo, and South Korea’s Tom Kim. U.S. world number one Scottie Scheffler was in contention at four under, playing alongside Ireland’s world number three Rory McIlroy who finished on three under.
Perez teed off first at 9 am (0700 GMT) to thunderous applause. The atmosphere reached its peak when fellow Frenchman Pavon stepped onto the tee to the sound of the crowd chanting La Marseillaise. “I was surprised there were a lot of people out here. Victor was in front of me and you could tell how they were cheering for him. It was pretty cool for the first day,” said Niemann. Perez finished at one under while Pavon finished level-par.
The Paris tournament extends the short history of golf at the Games, with the sport returning to the program in Rio in 2016 after a century-long absence.
