By Hiroki Noda,
Japan's Hideki Matsuyama fired an 8-under 63 Thursday to take a two-shot lead after the weather-interrupted first round of the men's Olympic golf tournament.
The 2021 Masters champion had five birdies on the front nine and added three more coming home without a bogey at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, outside Paris.
At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Matsuyama was among the losers in a seven-way playoff for bronze when Xander Schauffele of the United States claimed gold. Schauffele stands alone in second after the first day of his title defense.
Matsuyama made four birdies in a row from the seventh hole and finished his round by getting up and down for par from a greenside bunker.
The 32-year-old, a nine-time winner on the U.S. PGA Tour, then reluctantly answered questions from reporters.
"My score was good, so that means I had a good round," Matsuyama said. "I hit the fairways and created a lot of chances. It feels good to have a score like that."
Keita Nakajima, the 2023 money leader in Japan who has played mainly on the European tour this year, shot a 70.
With no cut, every player is guaranteed four rounds and 72 holes of play, weather permitting.
"For me, Tokyo was really special, obviously," Schauffele said, looking back at his Olympic victory. "But there were no fans. The city was closed, so I was stuck in my hotel room. (Now I) see people everywhere, see fans everywhere chanting. It feels like I'm here for the first time."
Chile's Joaquin Niemann, Argentina's Emiliano Grillo and South Korea's Tom Kim each had 66s to share third place.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States opened with a 67.
"I felt like I could have posted a better number, but overall felt like I did a lot of really good things," the world's top-ranked player said.
"I didn't really know what to expect. The last couple of days it's been pretty quiet around the course. But it was nice to play in front of a good crowd. A big crowd. It was a lot of fun."
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