Olympic golf finally catches a buzz
It only took 8 years, but Paris Games put on a party on both sides of the rope
France’s Victor Perez got the party started in Paris with opening tee shot (Chris Condon/PGA Tour/IGF)
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Victor Perez decided he would take the entire scene in. The French golfer had the honor of hitting the first tee shot to begin the Men’s Olympic Golf Competition at Le Golf National on Thursday and relished the opportunity.
A funny thing occurred on the way to the first tee: passion and pride mixed with joy.
Golf has been slow to embrace the Olympics, but the Paris Games brought out the best in the fans and the players during the first round.
“Obviously a lot going on,” said Perez, 31 who shot 70 to trail leader Hideki Matsuyama by eight shots. “It’s never the easiest place for a golfer to be. Nobody enjoys the first tee, I think ever.
“I told myself on the range, I told my caddie, James, let’s be there the full 10 minutes before and really soak it in all in. It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime. I’ll never hit this tee shot again, opening Games in Paris and being French and having all the home support. I wanted to be there. There wasn’t going to be more pressure whether I was there 10 minutes or four minutes.
“So I was like, you might as well just try to be there and take it all in and enjoy the people. It was great. I managed to hit a good shot, actually.”
Perez said the experience, in some ways, was more meaningful than getting his first DP World Tour victory in 2019 at the Dunhill Links Championship.
“This sticks out a little bit more, doing it in France in a place where — this used to be a putting green when we were kids,” he said of where he was standing on the Le Golf National grounds. “We played the Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 French Juniors here, and I remember staying in the Novotel (hotel on site) and coming out at nine o’clock doing putting games against the older guys and trying to win and playing for a coke or something.
“This place is very special for me. It’s obviously so much mixed feelings and emotions, and also happy to manage a strong back nine, so not shaming myself out there.”
Massive crowds flocked to Le Golf National (Chris Condon/PGA Tour/IGF)
The home of the 2018 Ryder Cup came alive for the Olympics, a welcome occasion for the players who were unexpectedly greeted by an impressive scene.
“I looked at the course, I thought of the Ryder Cup,” said Xander Schauffele, who won a gold medal three years ago in Tokyo with no galleries due to pandemic restrctions. “I was like, wow, what a venue, just the way everything sits and the way the course was designed with the moguls and mounds and everyone can kind of see.
“A lot of water everywhere. It’s kind of a scene, to be honest. And was just getting across the bleachers on 1 was amazing. Everyone starts chanting. It was loud. And then it got really quiet before everyone teed off.
“I had Matthieu (Pavon of France) behind me. They were chanting his name. They’re saying, ‘Let’s go Blue.’ They were making it an awesome experience, no doubt.
“It was an awesome atmosphere. And the fact that there’s only 20 groups, the fans sort of — it’s very congested in the best way possible.”
Schauffele took his usual place near the top of the leaderboard, shooting 65 in his first competitive round since winning the Open on July 21.
The winner of the gold medal in 2021 in Japan, Schauffele got the full experience this time after a spectator-less tournament three years ago due to COVID-19.
Rory McIlroy noticed the same thing.
“Unbelievable. It was surprising,” said Rory McIlroy, who played in the marquee grouping with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 4 Ludvig Åberg and shot 68 to trail Matsuyama by five shots. “With so many events going on spread all across the city, for people to venture out here and to watch us play, it was a really cool atmosphere to play in.”
Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg and Scottie Scheffler were the biggest draw (Ben Jared/PGA Tour/IGF)
Olympic golf’s traction has been hurt by circumstances since returning to the Games after a 112-year absence. In 2016, the first time golf was played in the Olympics since 1904, the Zika virus served as a convenient deterrent in Brazil for numerous players who skipped, including the top four players in the world (McIlroy, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson).
Three years ago in Japan, the COVID-delayed games were still under severe restrictions and didn’t have the same vibe — no crowds and no visitors other than athletes.
Now the tournament has come to the outskirts of a vibrant city at a venue that has some history as the site for a DP World Tour event and the Ryder Cup.
Australia’s Jason Day, who skipped the 2016 Games as world No. 1, was happy to have a second chance to experience it.
“This is probably the most nervous I’ve been wearing a set of clothes that you look down and see the colors,” said Day, who shot 69. “The first couple holes caught me off-guard actually quite a lot. I was quite nervous standing over the first tee shot and then it took me a few holes to get over it.
“It’s amazing, we’re not playing for money this week obviously. We are playing for a medal and you’re here kind of playing for free. But my point is it feels totally different. … It’s a good feeling because it just shows that it means a lot to me, which is good. So I’m happy about it.”
Organizers should be happy with the first-day leaderboard that they hope turns into a drama-filled weekend. Major winners Matsuyama, Schauffele, Scheffler, Jon Rahm and McIlroy are all in the mix. So are a few names that might surprise.
Now we wait to see if that nice vibe continues.
Hideki Matsuyama races to 8-under in just 14 holes and coasts to lead (Ben Jared/PGA Tour/IGF)
Hideki soars to fore in Paris
(IGF) — Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama holds a two-shot lead after a low-scoring opening round in the Men’s Olympic Golf Competition at Le Golf National.
Matsuyama produced a bogey-free, 8-under 63 to top the 60-player leaderboard on a sultry day in the outskirts of Paris that featured two weather delays.
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 6-under 65.
Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and Korea’s Tom Kim are tied third three shots off the lead at 5-under. England’s Tommy Fleetwood, winner of the 2017 Open de France and 2018 Ryder Cup participant at Le Golf National, opened with bogey-free 67 to headline a crowd tied sixth including Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm.
After missing out on a bronze medal in a seven-man 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 and former Masters champion 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 par-breakers at 13 and 14 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.
“Today’s result was good,” Matsuyama said. “So I’ll take that as a positive. My putts went in the cup well today. My shots went into the fairway, too. So I had a lot of chances, so I’m happy.”
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. 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 more than 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 to get 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,” said Schauffele. “But I’m happy to sort of ride the ship in and get away with what could have been worse.”
World No. 1 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 huge crowds at the sold-out venue.
“It was nice to play in front of a good crowd. Big crowd. It was a lot of fun,” said Scheffler. “They were cheering loud for us. It was pretty fun. Was definitely not expecting that coming in. I didn’t really know what to expect but there’s definitely more people than I expected.”
Earlier in the day, France’s Victor Perez enjoyed the honor of hitting the opening tee shot on home soil. He recovered from a sluggish start to birdie three of his final four holes for a 1-under 70, one stroke ahead of fellow countryman Matthieu Pavon.