Matsuyama and Schauffele Shine as Golf Returns to the Olympic Stage
Golf officially returned to the Olympic stage today for the first time in 112 years at Campo Olímpico de Golfe in Paris. With a star-studded field and a legendary golf course that was previously the host of a Ryder Cup, this is bound to be one of the year's premier events for golf fans. Luckily, day one did not disappoint, and the United States is represented very well. However, there were a few caveats. Here is the rundown of round one.
The first inconvenience was the weather. A threat of lightning in the area put a hold on the round, which threw some players out of their rhythm. The second caveat, at least for the American viewer, was the start times. Most of the field teed off right around 2:00 a.m. local time in Paris. While that is obviously not a controllable issue, it was still a bummer because some of the best golfers in the world are representing the United States. Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler, who are responsible for winning three of the four major championships on the PGA Tour this year, are representing the United States in this tournament. Schauffele and Scheffler are joined by two-time major winner Collin Morikawa and the 2022 U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark. Schuaffele performed the best out of the four on day one, as he shot a six-under-par 67, putting him in second place. Scheffler is in a good position as well, tied for sixth at four under par. Morikawa is a bit further down the leaderboard at one-under-par, and Clark struggled today, shooting a four-over-par round to put him near last place. Overall, it was a good showing for the United States on day one as three of the four golfers shot under par and were still within striking distance of the leader, Hideki Matsuyama.
Matsuyama of Japan is one of the quieter personalities in golf, which makes it quite ironic that he shot the low score of the day considering the rowdy environment with 20,000 fans lined up outside the course. Matsuyama is obviously no stranger to the spotlight as he famously won the Masters in 2021 and has finished in the top 10 of nine majors throughout his career. However, this Olympic tournament has a bit of a different buzz to it, considering the worldwide impact, combined with the fact that golf has not been in the Olympics for well over a century. This has the feeling of a fifth major for many of the PGA and LIV Tour players. It will be intriguing to see if Matsuyama can hold off an incredibly talented field over the next few days with names like Xander Schauffele, Joaquin Niemann, Tommy Fleetwood, and Scottie Scheffler all on his heels. So, if you happen to be awake in the middle of the night, I would strongly encourage tuning into some golf because it will be exciting in the next couple of days.
