Hideki Matsuyama arrived on the 18th tee holding a one-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood, fresh off back-to-back birdies on his previous two holes.
But then disaster struck on the closing hole at Le Golf National, one of the more challenging holes on the course. Matsuyama pushed his drive right of the fairway, as his ball came to rest in a nasty, whispy lie on the side of a hill. He had no choice but to lay up short of the green, a putting surface guarded by water all around. Except Matsuyama hit a poor recovery, gouging out his second shot and advancing his ball only 66 yards. It did not escape the rough, leaving Matsuyama with a delicate third from 122 yards away.
The 2021 Masters winner then plunked his third shot in the water, which led to a double-bogey and evaporated his two-shot advantage. He said he tried to play it safely, hoping to walk away with a bogey at worst, but the wind swallowed up his ball and sent it fishing.
Yet, Matsuyama still enters Saturday’s third round tied for the lead with Fleetwood and Xander Schauffele at 11-under-par, as he has a prime opportunity to bring home a gold medal to his native Japan.
“The Olympics, it’s enjoyable, joyful, but at the same time, it’s tough competition,” Matsuyama said after his 3-under 68.
“I see some difficult challenges, and I want to overcome those difficulties. I want to enjoy the final day by winning this.”
Prior to his stumble on the 18th, Matsuyama made seven birdies to go along with a pair of bogies. He was 5-under on the day through 17 holes. But Matsuyama is not dwelling on his finish; he is only looking ahead to the next 36 holes.
“I ended up getting some birdies today, and although it was tough at the end, I want to play well tomorrow,” Matsuyama said.
“I don’t know what the wind direction will be tomorrow, and I’m not sure if the temperature will drop tomorrow, so I’d like to plan based on the conditions tomorrow morning. I am really enjoying my second Olympic Games. However, while I am playing golf, I am concentrating and thinking as usual. There are both good and bad times, but I want to do my best so that I can feel happy at the end of the fourth day.”
Matsuyama only wants satisfaction after the final round, when the Olympics will hand out the gold, silver, and bronze medals to the top three finishers. After all, he is hungry for a podium finish after he fell just short of that three years ago in Tokyo, losing to C.T. Pan in a seven-for-one playoff that determined the bronze medalist.
And yet, Matsuyama feels that experience will not help him this time around. He is only focusing on what is in front of him.
“I don’t know what I can take from Tokyo, but all I can do is do my best to compete for the win,” Matsuyama added.
“When I was in the round, I didn’t even think about what was good or what was working. I’m really working hard to score lower, but I think I had a good balance and many birdies in this one, so I will do my best tomorrow.”
When Matsuyama is at his best, he is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world—as evidenced by his opening round and his win earlier this year at Riviera. He also played admirably for his first 17 holes on Friday. So if he can successfully put his dreadful finish behind him, which he is no doubt capable of, rest assured that Matsuyama will vie for gold come Sunday afternoon.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
