The second day of the Golf championship at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 has left us with at least nine certainties, although some of them may or will have to be reviewed in no more than 24 hours, what can you do… Let’s see.
The first. The candidacy presented by Hideki Matsuyama (-11) on the first day is still valid, despite having finished today with a double bogey on the 18th. The Japanese is co-leader of the tournament alongside Xander Schauffele (-11) and Tommy Fleetwood (-11), after signing today a 68, a score that could have been much more brilliant had he not stumbled badly at the last stop on the way by failing the start at the fearsome hole 18 of the Golf National and ending up going into the water with the third shot. In fact, he saved the co-leadership by sinking a great putt of more than three meters for double bogey.
The second. Schauffele maintains the composure and finesse of recent times. The defender of the Olympic title in Tokyo is right now and obligatorily the top favourite. Today he started with a bogey on the 2nd and still left a short birdie putt on the way at the 17th, but in general terms he has shown an insulting mastery of the situation.
The third. Jon Rahm (-9) must be something more than a weighty element in the final resolution of this tournament. One is not entirely confident with the Barrika player this year, but his line seems decidedly on the rise and his tee to green game has been almost splendid today (round of 66 strokes). The Spanish delegation is more than ‘authorised’ to expect a medal from him, we’ll see what metal…
The fourth. Scottie Scheffler (-6) is finding the season long. He still can’t find a more reliable version on the greens, but he also gives the impression that he has lost some finesse. He still has time to enter the dispute for the medals, but his margin of error, as things are going up, is already very scarce, if not nil. He needs a great Saturday round, no doubt.
The fifth. Tommy Fleetwood (-11) is something more than an illustrious outsider at the Golf National. On this course he excelled in his Ryder debut. On this course he also won a French Open. Let the party continue. Today he signed a 64 to climb to the top.
The sixth. More than a certainty, which also, is a curiosity: we currently have eleven different nationalities among the top twelve in the classification. Only the United States repeats with Schauffele and Scheffler. Otherwise: a Japanese (Matsuyama), an Englishman (Fleetwood), a Spaniard (Jon), a Belgian (Detry), one from Taipei (Pan), a Korean (Tom Kim), a German (Jaeger), a South African (Van Rooyen), an Italian (Migliozzi) and a Chilean (Niemann). Long live golf.
The seventh. Detry, who today signed the best result of the day (63), should be looked at more and more with Ryder eyes… What a debut his would be, in Bethpage, no less.
The eighth. Rory McIlroy (-5) has not yet shaken off the Pinehurst blow. He is there, but he is not quite there. The same analysis of Scheffler applies: he needs a great Saturday or he will say goodbye to the medals (David Puig (-4) can also apply the same recipe).
And the ninth. Hovland (+3) will no longer opt for the medals. The triple bogey with which he started the round has been a cruel reflection of what has been much of his season, sown with gross errors and probably bad decisions on the course.
