Scottie Scheffler gives honest verdict on how he played on day one at the Olympics

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World number one Scottie Scheffler is in contention after day one of the 2024 Olympics at Le Golf National in Paris.

Before Thursday’s play, Scheffler had claimed he was competing just to “have fun”, yet his performance told a very different story.

The 28-year-old is four under after carding a 67. Scheffler is four shots adrift of Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, who shot a super eight under 63.

Elsewhere, in-form American Xander Schauffele is also in contention, two shots back of Matsuyama in second.

Scottie Scheffler surprised by what he experienced at the Olympics on Thursday

Speaking during his press conference after his round, Scheffler admitted that he was surprised by the level of noise from the fans at Le Golf National.

“I didn’t really flow what to expect,” said Scheffler. “The last couple of days, it’s been pretty quiet around the course. I didn’t really know what was going on, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect. But it was nice to play in front of a good crowd.

“There was a big crowd. It was a lot of fun. They were cheering loud for us. It was pretty fun. I was definitely not expecting that coming in. I didn’t really know what to expect, but there were definitely more people than I expected.”

Furthermore, the world number one felt he could’ve posted an even better score despite being in contention.

Scheffler added: “As far as my golf today, I felt like I could have posted a better number, but overall, felt like I did a lot of really good things and hoping to continue that over the next few days.”

Several big names start well at the 2024 Olympics

• READ MORE: All you need to know about the 2024 Paris Olympics at Le Golf National

Away from Scheffler, Schauffele and Matsuyama, several big names have started well. Rory McIlroy sits at three under, and Tommy Fleetwood is one better off after carding a 67. Jon Rahm is also at the same number.

One surprise performance came from Aussie Min Woo Lee, who carded a five-over-par 76 to sit 13 shots back of the lead. The 26-year-old certainly has work to do if he’s to make Australian golfing history in Paris.

A less surprising name near the foot of the leaderboard is Wyndham Clark. USA fans were angry with his inclusion, and their fears were somewhat justified after the 2023 US Open champion carded a 75.