Jason Day has been World No.1 and won a Major, but pulling on an Australia shirt in the Olympics took him by surprise as he was overcome with nerves at Le Golf National.
Day carded a first round of 69 to sit six shots off Hideki Matsuyama but still in touch after the opening 18 holes of the men’s Olympic golf tournament.
Although he’s experienced almost everything in the game, pulling on his national team colours just hit a bit different for Day – and he really felt it.
He said looking down at the famous Australian green and gold filled him with a sense of national pride – but also unprecedented nerves.
“This is probably the most nervous I’ve been wearing a set of clothes that you look down and see the colours,” said Day after his round.
“The first couple holes caught me off-guard actually quite a lot. I was quite nervous standing over the first tee shot and then it took me a few holes to get over it.
“It’s amazing, we’re not playing for money this week obviously. We are playing for a medal and you’re here for kind of playing for free. But my point is, is that like it feels totally different.
“This is the most I’ve felt nervous standing on a tee box wearing a set of clothes that I’m wearing for the first time. It’s a good feeling because it just shows that it means a lot to me, which is good. So I’m happy about it.”
Much like Rory McIlroy, Day was surprised but delighted with the bumper crowd that attended the opening day at the stunning Le Golf National.
“I heard the crowd when I was on the putting green, screaming over there, and you go down the stairs, going from 1 to 2 to 3, it was impressive. It’s impressive to see how much sport brings a lot of people together.
“It’s a beautiful sport, isn’t it, firstly, and this is a great golf course. I think it’s a great venue. Paris is a really cool spot to come to. Feel very lucky to be able to play in front of a crowd like this for sure.”
With golf’s reintroduction in Rio 2016 a low key one due to Zika virus and Tokyo being blighted by Covid, this is the first proper Olympic tournament for the sport to showcase at it’s best – with a famous venue packed with fans.
Day says there’s a “different vibe” about it this year, and although still miles behind the Majors in importance, there’s potential for an Olympic gold…
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