“How do you see your first ride?”
I performed quite well with irons in hand and on the greens. I was comfortable in these two compartments. But my driving was a little too haphazard. The few drives that I missed penalized me quite a bit. This is what kept me from scoring better in the end. But there are a lot of good things to take away from this first round.
What did you feel at the start of the 1, was there emotion?
Honestly, I didn’t feel more pressure than that. It was great to start the Olympic tournament, but that didn’t pose a problem for me. The lack of an audience certainly plays a role in this slight lack of a special atmosphere.
You told us at the beginning of the week, very low scores are possible on this track and the leader is already at -8 …
Yes, it is not a difficult course from the moment you take the fairways. It rained heavily on Wednesday evening and the greens were in fact very receptive and remain very good. We could therefore get very close to the flags and frankly attack the birdies. If they let the roughs grow, the layout can harden a bit over the week. But the key will remain driving.
Have you been disturbed by the interruption of play due to a thunderstorm?
Yes and no. I had already conceded a bogey to 15 before being stopped. On the restart I was a little surprised by the rolling of the greens. I expected them to be a bit slower and not at all. Suddenly despite a good iron 5 to 16 which stops 3m from the hole I can not bring down my birdie. And on the 17th I put a slightly long wedge behind the flag. I chip horribly and concede a bogey. Overall it was not the interruption of the game that bothered me.
Is the atmosphere of this Olympic week really special?
In a sense, yes because all the big names, the Rories or others, are much more accessible than in classic tournaments. They are cool, there is no audience other than the members of the staff. And then, even if we play each for ourselves, we spend a lot of time with the members of the France team, with Antoine (Rozner) and his entourage. The atmosphere is really good, we all get along very well. It makes the week even more enjoyable. “
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