SOUTH Africa’s two golfers at the Paris Olympics will be looking for improved performances after struggling in their last two tournaments, where they didn’t make the cut, as they go in search of a medal and that elusive major tournament win.
An Olympian from Tokyo in 2021, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, and Erik van Rooyen, who will make his Games debut, tee off this morning at Le Golf National outside Paris as the duo bid for another medal or two for Team South Africa.
It will not be as one of the favourites, though, as that title belongs to world No 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States, and his compatriot Xander Schauffele, who won The Open at Royal Troon recently.
Schauffele is also the defending Olympic champion after winning in Tokyo a couple of years ago.
Whether it will mean less pressure on the South Africans remains to be seen, but after both missed the cut in their last two tournaments, they will look to improve on that in search of Olympic glory.
Frenchman Victor Perez will open the tournament at 9am today, leading the 60-strong field in a pairing with Germany’s Mattias Schmidd and Taiwanese 2021 bronze medallist CT Pan, with Bezuidenhout walking the fairways alongside Australian Min Woo Lee and Canada’s Corey Connors in a 9.33am tee time.
It is Bezuidenhout’s second Olympics, and he will be dead set on improving on the 16th place he earned in 2021 in Tokyo, where he mostly struggled to read the greens.
Final preparations for Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Erik van Rooyen ahead of the first round of the @OlympicGolf tomorrow. 🔨🚧#OlympicGames #Paris2024 #Golf #GreatnessBeginsHere #OlympicGolf pic.twitter.com/fCa4hG0VU6
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He missed the cut at The Open a few weeks ago, but won’t have to worry about that this time as all participants will compete over the next four days to be crowned champion.
Van Rooyen only jetted into Paris this week after still competing in the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota, where he also missed the cut.
It would’ve been a disappointing finish to his Olympics preparation, but the 34-year-old will be keen to put it behind him to focus on the task at hand – chasing a medal after being paired with Taiwan’s Kevin Yu and Keita Nakajima from Japan in an 11.17am start.
Schauffele will be eyeing back-to-back gold medals, being on a high after winning The Open in tough conditions last month, while Scheffler will be looking for some redemption after starting the year like a house on fire but somewhat falling off the wagon.
.@OfficialTeamRSA first and second round tee off times. ⏰#OlympicGames #Paris2024 #Golf #GreatnessBeginsHere #OlympicGolf pic.twitter.com/amx8HdoDhc
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) July 31, 2024
Spain’s Jon Rahm, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who has chosen to represent Ireland instead of Great Britain at the Olympics, Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Hideki Matsuyama from Japan are a few of the other big-name players teeing up today.
Scheffler will play alongside McIlroy and Swede Ludvig Aberg during today (10.11am), while Schauffele, Hovland and Rahm make up the other exciting grouping (11.55am) in Paris.