GUYANCOURT: Matsuyama Takes Early Lead Schauffele Close Behind, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan surged ahead in the early stages of the men’s Olympic golf tournament, aiming to improve on his fourth-place finish from Tokyo. Meanwhile, French golfers Victor Perez and Matthieu Pavon drew enthusiastic support from the crowd in the sunny setting south of Paris.
Matsuyama, who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at home three years ago after a seven-way playoff, delivered an impressive performance with an eight-under-par, bogey-free round of 63. His stellar play underlined his determination to surpass his previous Olympic result and secure a top spot this time.
That round placed the top-ranked Asian player three strokes clear of the nearest challengers: Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo, and South Korea’s Tom Kim, all of whom posted clubhouse scores of five under par.
Out on the course, however, defending Olympic champion Xander Schauffele of the United States was closing in on the lead at seven under after 14 holes, suggesting he had brought to Paris the form that helped him claim two major titles since May.
U.S. world number one Scottie Scheffler was within touch at four under after completing his first round, which he played alongside Ireland’s world number three Rory McIlroy, who was at three under.
The 60 contenders will all play four rounds at Le Golf National in a stroke play format, with the medallists taking the fewest number of shots to complete the 72 holes.
France’s Victor Perez started the tournament with the opening tee shot at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) to enthusiastic applause. He finished the round at one under par, while compatriot Matthieu Pavon was one over par after 13 holes.
