2024 Paris Olympics: Xander Schauffele picks up where he left off in Tokyo

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Schauffele posted a strong score to start the 2024 Paris Olympics as he looks to earn his second gold medal.

Xander Schauffele fired off an impressive 6-under 65 in round one of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Le Golf National.

The two-time major winner picked up where he left off in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games when he took home the gold.

However, to him, it is different. He finally gets the full Olympic experience in Paris and does not necessarily feel like the reigning Olympic champion.

“As the Olympic Games go on for us in golf, you’re so far removed you don’t feel it,” Schauffele said. “Tokyo was special, but there were no fans. The city was closed. I was stuck in my hotel room. Going out to eat dinner, seeing people everywhere, seeing fans everywhere chanting, it feels like I’m here for the first time.”

Xander Schauffele CHIPS IN for birdie to kick off his gold medal defense! #ParisOlympics

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— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 1, 2024

The fans showed up in large numbers at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue. For Thursday's round, there were 25-30,000 fans on site.

“I was like, ‘Wow, what a venue!' The way everything sits and the way the course was designed with the moguls and mounds, and everyone can see,” he said. There's a lot of water everywhere. It’s kind of a scene, to be honest—Getting across the bleachers on one was amazing.”

“Everyone starts chanting. It was loud. And then it got really quiet before everyone teed off. I had Matthieu Pavon behind me. They were chanting his name. They’re saying, ‘Let’s go, Blue.’ They were making it an awesome experience, no doubt.”

From the start, he came out with a purpose. Schauffele made a birdie on every odd-numbered hole on the front nine to turn in 31 strokes. On the back, he added his sixth birdie at the 12th, and the seventh came at 14.

Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Schauffele’s only mistake came on 17 when he bogeyed the par-4 17th. It is his sixth score of 65 or better in his last three starts, including his final-round 65 at the Open, which won him his second major. On the season, he has 18 rounds of 65 or better.

The 30-year-old seems to be peaking at the right moment, and if he continues to play well, he may see another Gold Medal on Sunday.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.