Schauffele Leads After 36 Holes at Tokyo Olympics
Weather Note: Stormy weather delayed the men’s golf tournament at the Tokyo Olympics. Due to dangerous weather (lightning) in the Saitama, Japan area, the second round was suspended at 5:20 pm (local). The second round will resume at 7:45 am Saturday (local time). Third-round tee times will be approximately 9:30-11:18 am (local) off the 1st and 10th tees in threesomes. Play suspended with 16 players set to finish round Saturday morning.
Today’s weather report is calling for some isolated thunderstorms with high humidity (91%) in the morning dropping to (56%) by 4:00pm (local). Saturday temperatures will range from 77-degrees (F) to 88-degrees by 4:00pm.
Austria’s Sepp Straka’s record-tying round of 8-under-par (63 )in Round One was matched by another as Xander Schauffele of the USA supplanted Straka atop the leaderboard during Friday’s second round of the men’s Olympic golf competition at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama bounced back nicely from his opening round (69) and was six-under on his round through 16 holes. He stands (-8) and T-3 with three other players, including 18-hole leader Straka. Although there are no spectators allowed on the ground, reports show at least 100 people following Matsuyama around on the course, many credentialed volunteers along with media/photographers.
Mito Pereira of Chile, who shot a 65 in R-2 and is T-3, attended Texas Tech. Previously on the Korn Ferry Tour, Pereira recently won his second and third events of the 2020-21 season, to earn an immediate and automatic promotion to the PGA Tour. Over the past two weeks, he T-5 at the Barbosol Championship and T-6 at the 3M Open.
Rory McIlroy is not wearing a hat, as he usually does on the PGA Tour circuit, and it’s the talk of the sport. Why the change to “no hat?” “My head is so small that I have to get Nike to make me custom hats," McIlroy told PGATour(dot)com. "So whenever I’m in a team event and the hats aren’t custom, they’re all too big.”
Olympic Leaderboard After 36 Holes (Partial Scores):
Xander Schauffele (USA) - 68-63—131 (-11)
Carlos Ortiz (Mexico) - 65-67—132 (-10)
Mito Pereira (Chile) - 69-65—134 (-8)
Alex Noren (Sweden) - 67-67—134 (-8)
Sepp Straka (Austria) - 63-71—134 (-8)
*Hideki Matsuyama Japan 69-x (-8 thru 16)
Men’s Golf at the Tokyo Olympic Games
COURSE: Kasumigaseki Country Club (East Course)
LOCATION: Saitama, Japan
SOCIAL MEDIA: #OlympicGames #Olympics @OlympicGolf #Tokyo2020
OFFICIAL SITE: International Golf Federation (link)
Olympic Golf Tournament Format
The Olympic golf competition consists of a 72-hole individual stroke play tournament for men’s and women’s events (four rounds scheduled over four consecutive days). Scores are cumulative from round to round. The players with the lowest aggregate scores will be awarded the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.
How to Watch
TV COVERAGE: NBC Sports has exclusive US rights to the Tokyo Olympics. Since the Golf Channel is owned and operated by NBC, the sport of Olympic Golf will air on Golf Channel, live in the USA.
(Broadcast times converted to (EDT)
Today, July 30: 6:30pm (EDT) to Saturday 3:00am (EDT) - Golf Channel
Saturday, July 31: 6:30pm (EDT) to Sunday 3:30am (EDT) - Golf Channel
Field, Tee Times
Field of Olympians: (link)
Tee Times: (link)
Tee Times are local. Saitama, Japan is 13 hours ahead of (EDT).
What They’re Saying
Xander Schauffele Leads by One Shot After 36 Holes (ESPN/Associated Press)
Olympic Leaderboard Starts to Sizzle (Golf Digest)
Rory McIlroy Warmed to the Games (Golf Week/USA Today)
Mito Pereiro of Chile T-3 After Strong Round (Golf Week/USA Today)
Parting Putt:
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