Hideki Matsuyama shot an 8-under 63 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Nationals on Thursday.
Next up is a familiar figure in Xander Schauffele, 10 days away from a British Open title and playing like he hasn’t missed a beat.
The surprise was beyond the ropes – nearly 20,000 spectators braved stifling heat, trudged over rugged terrain and saw unusually low pitches as overnight rain softened the pitch. Score.
Matsuyama lost in a seven-player playoff in the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal match, but he had six birdies in 10 holes and kept a clean card with a 15-foot par save on the 17th.
“Luckily, I was able to keep the ball in the fairway, leaving myself with a lot of scoring opportunities,” Matsuyama said.
“So, in that regard, I’m happy with the end result. But there’s still a lot I can improve on. It’s definitely a good start and hopefully I can keep that momentum going for the rest of the week.”
The opening round slowed down toward the end as storm clouds approached, causing two delays due to lightning in the area.
Schauffele had to leave the course on the 18th tee, returned for par, and then suffered another delay.
Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz challenged for the lead in a start-stop maneuver. On the par-3 16th hole, he hit his tee shot into the water, made double bogey, and ended up with a bogey. He had to settle for a 69.
Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and South Korea’s Tom Kim shot 66, and Masters champion and tournament favorite Scotty ·Scottie Scheffler shot 67.
Niemann is one of seven players on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf, but there is no guarantee of making it to the majors next year. An Olympic gold medal would allow him to compete in all four events next year.
Scheffler’s family was all in, including three-month-old son Bennett, who was woken up by loud cheers when he birdied the first hole.
“I really didn’t know what to expect. It’s been very quiet around the stadium the past few days,” Scheffler said. “But it was great to play in front of a big crowd — a big crowd. It was a lot of fun. It was definitely more than I expected.”
He was joined by Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg, both of whom shot 68. There were 8 circles standing around and under the second hole, kids standing on their dad’s shoulders, everyone pulling out their phones to capture what they could.
They finished well, with 41 players under par in the 60-man field. But the biggest reward is beyond the ropes.
“The first tee isn’t quite a Ryder Cup, but it’s certainly more than a normal tournament and a lot more than you see on Thursday,” Collin Morikawa said.
He competes with another French player, Matthieu Pavon. When they saw Pavin on the bridge leading to the first tee, the crowd began singing “La Marseillaise” and cheered Pavin so loudly that the players could hear it two or three holes away. .
Pavon’s voice got even louder with a birdie on the first hole, although he only had one birdie in 72 rounds that day.
“When they chanted Mathieu’s name and the sound echoed around the corner, it was like, this is special,” Schauffele said. “Obviously, for me, Tokyo is really special, but there are no fans. The city is on lockdown. I’m stuck in a hotel room.
“Going out to dinner and seeing people everywhere and fans everywhere chanting, it felt like it was my first time here.”
Schauffele’s 65 was a great start for someone aiming for another gold medal. This is harder than it looks. He made a birdie on the first hole. He has to go up and down in the rest of the game and strive for par. He missed the fairway on the par-5 third but still made a good birdie.
“This is not what you imagine as a golfer to be a dream, striped start,” he said. “But I’m just happy to be able to coast away from what could have been a worse situation. I missed some putts. But it’s Thursday. I didn’t really sweat too much.”
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