Hideki Matsuyama shot an eight-under 63 to take a two-shot lead after the first round at Le Golf National on Thursday.
Right behind him stood a familiar player, Xander Schauffele, who had been winning the title at The Open for 10 days and was playing like he hadn’t missed a beat.
What was surprising was that there were around 20,000 spectators outside the ground, braving the rough roads in searing heat and overnight rain which had produced an unusually low scoring ground.
Matsuyama, who lost in a seven-man playoff for the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, made six birdies in 10 holes and saved a 15-foot par putt on the 17th to maintain a clean card.
“Fortunately, I was able to keep the ball in the fairway and had many opportunities to score,” Matsuyama said.
“In that regard, I’m satisfied with the final result. But there are still many things I can improve. It’s definitely been a great start and hopefully I can keep the momentum going for the rest of the week.”
Play was slowed by the arrival of storm clouds near the end of the preliminary round, which caused two delays due to lightning in the area.
Schauffele had to leave the course on the 18th tee, then returned to make par and there was another delay.
Carlos Ortiz of Mexico challenged for the lead amid intermittent action. He hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 16th, leading to a double bogey and then a bogey at the end. He had to settle for a 69.
Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and South Korea’s Tom Kim are tied for 66th, while Masters champion and tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler is tied for 67th.
Nieman is one of seven players in the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf who are not guaranteed to be in the majors next year. An Olympic gold medal would secure him a spot in the four next year.
Scheffler had his entire family present, including his three-month-old son, Bennett, who woke up to loud cheers when he birdied the first hole.
“I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s been pretty quiet the last couple of days,” Scheffler said. “But it felt good to play in front of a good crowd – a big crowd. It was a lot of fun. There were definitely more people than I expected.”
He played alongside Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg, who each shot 68. It was the marquee group at the start, and fans stood eight-deep around the first green and down the second hole, kids on their fathers’ shoulders, everyone with their phones to capture whatever they could.
They saw good scoring, with 41 players finishing under par out of a field of 60. But the biggest achievement was beyond the ropes.
“The first tee wasn’t exactly like the Ryder Cup, but it was definitely more than a normal tournament, and more than what you see on Thursday,” Collin Morikawa said.
He played with Mathieu Pavon, the other Frenchman in the field. When the crowd saw him on the bridge leading to the first tee box, they began singing “La Marseillaise” and cheered for Pavon so loudly that players could hear it from two or three holes away.
Pavon birdied the first hole and it got even stronger, though he had only one birdie on the day in a round of 72. Schauffele was in the group ahead of Pavon.
“When they were chanting Matthew’s name and it was echoing in the corner there, it felt like, this is so special,” Schauffele said. “For me, Tokyo was really special, obviously, but there were no fans. The city was closed. I was stuck in my hotel room.
“Going out to eat dinner, seeing people everywhere, seeing fans chanting everywhere, it feels like I’m here for the first time.”
Schauffele shot 65, a good start for someone looking to win another gold medal. It was tougher than it looked. He chipped in for birdie on the first hole. He had to get up and down for par on the next. He missed the fairway on the par-5 third hole and still had a good look at birdie.
“It wasn’t a dream, it wasn’t the kind of start you imagine as a golfer at all,” he said. “But I’m happy that I was able to stay aboard and get through the worst that could have happened. I missed a few putts. But it’s Thursday. I’m not really too upset.”
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