Belgian Thomas Pieters and Mexican Carlos Ortiz tied for third in the first round of golf on Thursday.
During the day, Rikuya Hoshino He was not alone on the first tee at the start of Olympic golf.
The grandstand behind Hoshino, which should have been empty at these Olympics without an audience, was filled with volunteers in the Tokyo 2020 uniform who wanted to see how the 25-year-old Japanese started a tournament that was delayed a year by the pandemic.
The two golfers who accompanied him in the first group, Sepp Straka and the belgian Thomas Pieters, they went to the front.
On a soft field, Straka picked a good day to be on target with his irons. He made four birdies on his final six holes to finish with a 63-stroke scorecard, 8 under par, equaling the Olympic record – unheard of since the sport only returned to the program in 2016 – and finished one stroke ahead of the Thai Jazz Janewattananond.
Pieters, who was one step away from bronze in Rio, fell ill the day before and was unable to sound the first nine holes of country club Kasumigaseki in practice rounds. He racked up 30 strokes in the last nine holes for a score of 65.
The Mexican Carlos Ortiz He also signed a 65 under ideal conditions in a field that, when the players arrived, did not have a divot after spending two months closed.
The Mexican golfer had a good Olympic debut after finishing T3 with (-6) with 65 strokes in the first round of the tournament, while his compatriot Abraham Ancer in the T19 with (-2) 69 strokes. The Jalisco was close to the Austrian Sepp Straka, who had the first place with (-8) and 63 strokes.
Ortiz shares third place with Belgian Thomas Pieters, who in this session made (-6) 65 strokes.
Two other Latin Americans, the Venezuelan Jhonattan vegas (66) and the Colombian Sebastian Muñoz (67), completed rounds that left them close to the leaders.
Exultant to participate in his first Games, Muñoz said that the experience has given him unprecedented experiences.
“Here are the best athletes in the world, being in the Olympic Village has been a lot of fun,” said Muñoz. “I am very grateful to be able to compete in this tournament.”
Volunteers cleared the rostrum behind Hoshino’s drive and had returned to their posts – most helping to spot errant strikes – when it was the turn of the main Japanese hope.
The Augusta Masters Champion, Hideki Matsuyama, he still had reason to believe that everyone was watching.
“If I say there is no pressure, I would be lying,” says Matsuyama after starting the competition with a 69 card, which was not the best start in a round with low scores so low that only 13 of the 60 golfers were over par .
Patrick Reed y Xander Schauffele they finished with 68, a pretty good result for Reed.
He entered the tournament at the last minute replacing Bryson DeChambeau, who tested positive for COVID-19, and due to the tests he had to undergo, he did not arrive on the field until Wednesday afternoon. He only had time to see the last four holes from a cart.
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