Hideki Matsuyama produced a bogey-free, 8-under 63 to take a two-shot lead after a low-scoring opening round in the Olympic men’s golf competition at Le Golf National.
“Today’s result was good. So I’ll take that as a positive. My putts went in the cup welltoday. My shots went into the fairway, too. So I had a lot of chances, so I’m happy”
The Japan native tops the 60-athlete leaderboard after a sultry day in the outskirts of Paris that featured two weather delays.
After missing out on a bronze medal in a playoff on home soil at Tokyo 2020, Matsuyama made the ideal start in his bid for a podium finish as he hit 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens.
The world No. 12 enjoyed a fast start with back-to-back birdies at the second and third, before three birdies in succession from the seventh saw him hit the turn in 5-under. He then made it four birdies in a row at the 10th before two more gains at the 13th and 14th put him firmly in position to break the course record of 9-under 62.
While the early starter on Day 1 was unable to maintain that remarkable pace, he did stay blemish-free as he parred the tough four-hole closing stretch.
Defending gold medalist Xander Schauffele from the United States maintained his momentum from winning his second major title this season at last month’s Open Championship to sit second after a 65.
The in-form Schauffele got off to an excellent start with a chip-in birdie at the first, before six further birdies saw him close to two off the clubhouse lead held by Matsuyama.
His lone bogey of the day came at the 17th – just before lightning in the area resulted in a 39-minute interruption. He finished the round just before an additional suspension resulted in a delay lasting just over an hour.
“Chip-in on 1 was pretty lucky. Skanked an iron out to the right. Then skanked another iron on 2 way right to the pin, was able toget up-and-down and pulled a drive on 3. So it wasn’t sort of the dream, stripy start that you envision as a golfer. But I’m happy to sort of ride the ship in and get away with what could have been worse,” said the American.
Joaquin Niemann of Chile, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and Korea’s Tom Kim lie three shots off the lead at 5-under.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler carded a flawless 4-under 67, while Rory McIlroy made an eagle in a 68 that was matched by Ryder Cup-winning teammate Ludvig Åberg, as the marquee threeball drew big crowds.
Earlier in the day, Victor Perez enjoyed the honour of hitting the opening tee shot on home soil. He recovered from a sluggish start to card four birdies on the back nine and finish at 1-under, one stroke ahead of fellow countryman Matthieu Pavon.
Related: Grade “A” Architecture – Le Golf National
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