Hideki Matsuyama (-8) is the leader of the golf competition at the Paris Games after the first day. Nothing to object to his round of 63 strokes at the Golf National and, more importantly, nothing that surprises at all: if we asked a hundred fans before the start of a Major about their three favourites, it is very likely that none of them would include Matsuyama in their trio; but neither would any of those same hundred raise their eyebrows, surprised, once they found out that the Japanese player was the outstanding leader of that Major after the first round, or after the second, or the third…
This is how this player moves in the collective imagination of golf: if they swear to you that he is the World Number 12, as is currently the case, you believe it; if they tell you that no, he is Number 43, you also don’t doubt it. If you are not up to date with his recent exploits and they tell you that he has just finished third in the Open, why not; if they assure you that he had actually missed the cut, well fine…
There is not a single high competition golf player in whom such absolutely peculiar perceptions converge in such a seemingly contrasting way: on the one hand, so decidedly off the radar, on the other, at the same time, so definitely in, in whatever tournament, against whatever rivals and under whatever conditions. It is a case worthy of study. Perhaps it only has to do with the inexpressiveness of the character, which blurs the constant and resounding records. Or perhaps it is simply that he is so good, so consistent, that we take his presence for granted in an unconscious way. Good and consistent he is, of course: Matsuyama has made the cut in the last 18 Majors he has played, a streak, an achievement, within the reach of almost no one. We can go a little further: to date he has played 313 tournaments valid for the world ranking and only in 39 did he miss the cut (12.46 percent); in addition, he won 18 of those 313 and in ninety of them he finished in the top ten, which means close to a third of the total, records that place him well above average.
Very few, except perhaps in Japan, have considered the name of Hideki Matsuyama as the top favourite for gold in Paris 2024, but it is obvious, after the first round, that he must be counted on. The problem for the Japanese player is that there are not a few favourites who have also started off on the right foot. This is the case of Xander Schauffele (-6), the defending champion, who did start this morning with the label of great and main candidate and is already placed in second position. None as favourite as the Californian, after his surgical triumph at Royal Troon a few days ago. It may be that Schauffele, not so long ago, was weighed down by expectations, but now, it seems, they not only do not hold him back, but propel him. Not to overlook the names of Scottie Scheffler (-4), Joaquín Niemann (-5) or Jon Rahm (-4).
The forecasts about the projection of the winning result, situated around -20, have been confirmed. Whoever aspires to gold, may even to bronze, will have to average four or five under per day. From this point of view, things are already going badly or very badly for Matt Fitzpatrick (+2), Wyndham Clark (+4) or Min Woo Lee (+5).
