Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood Share Lead At Paris Olympics

We've reached the midway point of the 2024 Men's Olympic Golf competition at Le Golf National in Paris, and three of the biggest stars in the tournament have found their way to the top of the leaderboard.

Xander Schauffele (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), and Tommy Fleetwood (Great Britain) share hold of the lead (-11) after two rounds, setting the stage for an epic weekend in France.

NO SLOWING DOWN SCHAUFFELE

Schauffele, the reigning Gold Medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, wasted no time in picking up where he left off following his Open Championship victory at Royal Troon two weeks ago. The two-time major winner raced out to 6-under through the opening 18 holes, and he paired that with a 5-under 66 on Friday morning to sit at 11-under after the tournament's second day.

However, the most intriguing part of Schauffele's Friday round perhaps occurred at the par-4 13th hole after missing the fairway with his tee shot. As Schauffele approached his ball in the rough, he noticed an ant pile sitting directly behind his ball in the grass. After conversing with two rules officials to figure out relief possibilities, Schauffele wound up taking his medicine en route to one of his two bogeys for the day.

“I’m trying to get to my ball and I can’t even — what’s going on? Something is behind my ball,” Schauffele said after his round. “I went down and saw a pile, so I called an official. It was just ants. It was a pile of ants... I didn’t want to mess with it. Couldn’t take relief. It’s a loose impediment."

"I got a second opinion, and the guys said I could not move the grass but use my tee to move the ants... I didn’t [end up doing] anything, to be honest. I ended up hacking out 50 yards on the fairway. That’s all I’ve got for you.”

MATSUYAMA'S MOMENTUM CONTINUES

Matsuyama held the lead after the first round at Le Golf National , recording eight birdies and no bogeys while hitting 16 of 18 greens. The 2021 Masters champion got off to another fast start on Friday, sitting 3-under through 11 holes in the second round. After another two birdies at the 16th and 17th holes, the nine-time PGA Tour winner sat atop the leaderboard at 13-under.

Unfortunately for Hideki and Japanese fans watching around the world, the grueling 18th hole would get the better of him before the day's end. Matsuyama missed the fairway with his tee shot, chunked his second shot back into the rough, and knocked his third shot into the water short of the green. He did roll in a 10-footer to save a double-bogey, but his final hole blunder cost him the outright lead going into the weekend.

FLEETWOOD'S FABULOUS FRIDAY

Fleetwood opened the tournament with a sound 4-under 67 on Thursday, putting him tied for sixth after the first round. But the 33-year-old Englishman came out flying Friday afternoon to cement himself as part of the mix to win gold, tallying three birdies and an eagle on the front-nine holes.

The scoring didn't stop there for Fleetwood, as he added circles to his scorecard at the 13th, 14th, and 17th holes on the back nine. Like Matsuyama though, the pesky par-4 18th put a damper on an otherwise spectacular round for Fleetwood, as he wound up making his only bogey of the day. Still, Fleetwood's impressive 7-under 64 gives him a joint lead of the tournament at 11-under.

“It would be nice to think so,” Fleetwood said when asked whether he could draw on his past success at Le Golf National from the 2018 Ryder Cup. “Whatever happened six years ago [does not affect] what is going to happen tomorrow but you’re always better off coming to a course where you have good feelings and good things have happened. So I’ll draw on those but I have to stand up there and hit the golf shots. Nothing that’s happened in the past is going to do it for me. But it’s better having good feelings than having a course that’s battered you to pieces.”

Fleetwood notably demolished the Americans at the 2018 Ryder Cup alongside partner Francesco Molinari, establishing the famed 'Moliwood' partnership. We'll see if Fleetwood can keep the vibes going at Le Golf National throughout the weekend.

ON TAP AT THE TEE BOX

Schauffele, Matsuyama, and Fleetwood will play together in the final grouping on Saturday, with the trio teeing off at 6:39 am ET.

Jon Rahm (-9), Thomas Detry (-8), and C.T. Pan (-8) are in the penultimate grouping and will tee off at 6:28 am ET.

Coverage of the third round of the Men's Olympic Golf competition will stream on Peacock, starting at 3:00 am ET and running through the end of the round.

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