Lightning briefing interrupted round 1 of men's golf at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday, but that didn't shake the defending champion off his game.
Among 60 of the world's top golfers, Tokyo gold medalist Xander Schuffele from Team USA sits in second place at 6-under 65, behind Japan's Hideki Matsuyama with 8-under 63. In third is Joaquin Niemann from Chile, who's at -5 with 66 strokes.
Schauffele captured the Claret Jug at the Open Championship in July just two months after winning his first major title at the PGA Championship. He's facing stiff competition in his bid for another Olympic title. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm are just some of the other big names competing.
As round 1 out of 4 was underway at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France, the International Golf Federation announced the game would be paused due to lightning in the area. After a 40-minute pause, the play resumed for 20 minutes before lightning interrupted it again for another hour.
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There are still three more rounds and 54 more holes to go until the golfer with the lowest number of combined strokes is awarded a gold medal.
Olympic golf schedule:
The men's golf tournament runs from Thursday, Aug. 1 to Sunday, Aug. 4. The tee time for Round 2 is scheduled from 3 a.m. to 6:39 a.m. ET.
How to watch:
You can watch the men's golf tournament on the Golf Channel and Peacock. The action will also be available to stream on NBCOlympics.com.
Olympic women's golf Round 1:
The women's golf tournament at the Paris Games will take place from Wednesday, Aug. 7 to Saturday, Aug. 10. Team USA's Nelly Korda will be looking to repeat as Olympic champion.
