Victor Perez from France repeatedly pumped his fist above his head before hitting the first tee shot on Thursday, celebrating the start of Olympic golf in front of a large and loud home crowd.
Then Hideki Matsuyama went about his game quietly, shooting an impressive 8-under 63 to take a two-shot lead at Le Golf National. Right behind him was Xander Schauffele, who, just 10 days after winning the British Open, played as if he hadn’t missed any time.
The big surprise was outside the ropes — nearly 20,000 spectators braved the intense heat, walking across rough terrain, and saw unusually low scores due to overnight rain that softened the course.
Matsuyama, who lost in a seven-man playoff for the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, made six birdies through 10 holes and kept a clean card with a 15-foot par save on the 17th.
“Fortunately, I was able to keep the ball in the fairway and left myself with a number of chances to score,” Matsuyama said.
“So in that regard, I’m satisfied with the end result. But also still a number of things I could improve on. Definitely off to a great start and hopefully I can keep the momentum going for the rest of the week.”
The opening round slowed down towards the end when storm clouds rolled in, causing two delays because of lightning in the area. Schauffele had to leave the course while on the 18th tee, returned to make par, and then another delay occurred.
Carlos Ortiz from Mexico was competing for the lead amid the stop-and-start play. He hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 16th, resulting in a double bogey, and then made a bogey at the end. He finished with a 69.
Joaquin Niemann from Chile, Emiliano Grillo from Argentina, and Tom Kim from South Korea each scored 66, while Masters champion and tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler shot 67.
Niemann is one of seven players from Saudi-funded LIV Golf in the tournament, with no guarantee of being in the majors next year. Winning an Olympic gold medal would earn him a spot in all four majors next year.
