Paris Olympics round 1 leader Hideki Matsuyama makes golf look easy

Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama leads the men's golf event after round one at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He played immaculate golf and remained bogey-free to card -8 on day one at the Le Golf National's Albatross golf course. He hit five birdies on the front nine and three on the back nine to take the overnight lead.

The 2021 Masters champion showcased immense skills on the golf course as he took advantage of the soft conditions due to the overnight rain. He did not make any significant mistakes and made scoring look easy, even though it wasn't as straightforward as it looked.

During the post-round press conference, Hideki Matsuyama revealed his thoughts about his performance.

"Today's result was good. So I'll take that as a positive. My putts went in the cup well today. My shots went into the fairway, too. So I had a lot of chances, so I'm happy," Matsuyama revealed.

Hideki said his sense of distance with the iron was great and revealed his feelings heading into the next three rounds.

"I'm glad I was able to finish the day in the top spot," the Japanese golfer said.

Hideki Matsuyama is competing in his second Olympic Games as he represented Japan in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Even though he had the home advantage, the 32-year-old golfer missed the medal by a whisker as he finished T4 for the event.

---

When will Hideki Matsuyama tee off in the second round at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

Hideki Matsuyama was one of the early starters in round one. Hence, he will tee off a bit late in the second round, along with Team USA's Wyndham Clark and Team Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood. This three-ball will tee off at 11:44 am local time.

Hideki Matsuyama leads the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after round one - Golf - Source: Getty Images

The Japanese golfer has a lead of two strokes over Xander Schauffele, who will try his best to get past Hideki before heading into the weekend. But Matsuyama will look to maintain his lead and extend the gap as much as possible.

---

Round 2 tee times for Olympic golf

Here are the tee times for round two for the men's golf event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (All tee times are local).

• 9:00 a.m.: Yuan Yechun (China), Camilo Villegas (Colombia), Matteo Manassero (Italy)
• 9:11 a.m.: Adrian Meronk (Poland), Sami Valimaki (Finland), David Puig (Spain)
• 9:22 a.m.: Erik van Rooyen (South Africa), Keita Nakajima (Japan), Kevin Yu (Chinese Taipei)
• 9:33 a.m.: Stephan Jaeger (Germany), Nicolai Højgaard (Denmark), Thomas Detry (Belgium)
• 9:44 a.m.: Byeong Hun An (Korea), Shane Lowry (Ireland), Nick Taylor (Canada)
• 9:55 a.m.: Xander Schauffele (USA), Viktor Hovland (Norway), Jon Rahm (Spain)
• 10:11 a.m.: Matthieu Pavon (France), Collin Morikawa (USA), Matt Fitzpatrick (Great Britain)
• 10:22 a.m.: Shubhankar Sharma (India), Rafael Campos (Puerto Rico), Carlos Ortiz (Mexico)
• 10:33 a.m.: Nico Echavarria (Colombia), Mito Pereira (Chile), Kris Ventura (Norway)
• 10:44 a.m.: Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay), Joel Girrbach (Switzerland), Tapio Pulkkanen (Finland)
• 10:55 a.m.: Victor Perez (France), Matti Schmid (Germany), C.T. Pan (Chinese Taipei)
• 11:06 a.m.: Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark), Alejandro Tosti (Argentina), Joaquin Niemann (Chile)
• 11:17 a.m.: Emiliano Grillo (Argentina), Alex Noren (Sweden), Ryan Fox (New Zealand)
• 11:33 a.m.: Min Woo Lee (Australia) Corey Conners (Canada), Christian Bezuidenhout (South Africa)
• 11:44 a.m.: Wyndham Clark (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Tommy Fleetwood (Great Britain)
• 11:55 a.m.: Sepp Straka (Austria), Jason Day (Australia), Tom Kim (Korea)
• 12:06 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler (USA), Rory McIlroy (Ireland), Ludvig Åberg (Sweden)
• 12:17 p.m.: Adrien Dumont de Chassart (Belgium), Daniel Hillier (New Zealand), Guido Migliozzi (Italy)
• 12:28 p.m.: Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand), Gavin Green (Malaysia), Gaganjeet Bhullar (India)
• 12:39 p.m.: Phachara Khongwatmai (Thailand), Abraham Ancer (Mexico), Dou Zecheng (China)