Golf and the Olympics have always seemed to have a strained relationship. Whereas for most sports that make up the Olympic programme a gold medal is seen as the ultimate achievement and the pinnacle of their sport. For professional golfers the prospect of grabbing a green jacket or taking home the Claret Jug is likely to make way more appeal than winning a gold medal.
However, after the uneasiness of Rio and a lack of fans at Tokyo, the opening round of men’s golf at this year’s Games seemed right.
Played amidst the beautiful surroundings of Le Golf National, the atmosphere was raucous and for the first time since golf entered the Olympic family back in 2016, there was a feeling that this was a tournament the field were desperate to win.
Despite the best efforts of the weather, round one of this year’s Olympics is in books and on a day of free scoring, here are the day’s main talking points.
Having Missed Out in Tokyo, Hideki Matsuyama Leads The Way After 18 Holes
Hideki Matsuyama is one of golf’s quiet men, never up and seemingly never down, it’s hard to get a feel on how Japan’s greatest golfer is feeling.
Despite his uncanny poker face, Matsuyama would have approached today with unhappy memories of the last time that he teed it up in Olympic competition.
One of Japan’s main hopes for the delayed 2020 Tokyo games, Matsuyama wasn’t able to win gold on his home soil and would end up agonisingly missing out on a bronze medal when he would lose in a playoff.
Clearly arriving in Paris with a point to prove, Matsuyama made the most of the generous conditions as he surged to the top of the leaderboard.
Often his Achilles heel can be his putter, but his putter was on fire yesterday. Picking up shots on two of his first three holes, he was able to make the turn on -5.
Keen to press on after his great start, further birdies would arrive on the 10th, 13th and 14th holes. Sitting on -8 with just four holes to play, the Japanese star was able to navigate the tricky closing holes in level par to ensure he would be the opening day with a two stroke lead.
Xander Schauffele Keen For More Olympic Gold
Xander Schauffele already knows what it takes to win Olympic gold and after a superb year where he has tasted major success twice, it isn’t surprising that the American finds himself bang in contention.
Like Matsuyama, the Open Champion devoured the front nine, making the turn at -5 and seemingly well placed to end the day on top. Two more birdies would arrive on the 12th and 14th holes, but unlike his Japanese rival, Schauffele would fall foul of the tough finish, dropping a shot on the 17th.
Ending the day on -6, Schauffele is incredibly well placed to make his move today and all will be keeping a close eye on his progress today.
A Host of Quality Names Find Themselves in The Hunt
With the wind flat and the course softened by all of the recent rain that has fallen in the Paris area, low scoring was very much the order of the day.
Sitting three shots off the pace is the trio of Tom Kim, Emiliano Grillo and Joaquin Niemann, whilst Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood headline a group who are just a shot further back on -4.
Other big guns such as Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg will also be happy with their opening days work with the pair sitting on -3, five off the lead and just two shots off the bronze medal positions.
With the scoring set to continue over the weekend, all those who are in the red numbers will be hopeful of making their moves over the next few days.
Golf And The Olympics Have Arrived
Yesterday felt like all of the stars had come out to play and the tournament looks exceptionally poised as we enter the final 56 holes.
Whereas previous Olympics have been hindered by either no crowd or a crowd limited in numbers, yesterday’s opening round felt like the real deal. 20,000 spectators lined the course and it's believed that over the weekend those numbers should swell.
With all of the best players in the world finding themselves firmly in the hunt, there is a great chance that the battle for the medals will go down to the wire. There is no cut scheduled for the tournament so every man in the field has time to make their moves.
Matsuyama and Schauffele will be keen to push on from the front, it is the rest of the field’s job to ensure they don’t get too far away.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
