Even though stars Jason Day and Adam Scott opted to stay home, Australia put itself in great position Thursday to reach the podium in the men's golf competition when Marcus Fraser shot an opening-round 8-under 63 to take the lead at Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro .
Fraser completed Round 1 with nine birdies and a lone bogey. He took advantage of calm conditions to place himself in firm contention for a gold medal — the first since golf was last played in the Olympics 112 years ago.
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"I played really steady all day, gave myself chances all day long, managed to make a few long putts, holed out really well," he said. "It felt like I did everything really well today."
Similar to a British Open, the weather affected the draw. Players teeing off in the morning, like Fraser, experienced calm conditions ripe for scoring. However, the afternoon wave had to fight through wind gusts up to 20 mph.
Canadian Graham DeLaet got things started with a 5-under 66. Despite battling an injury-plagued season on the PGA Tour, DeLaet feels like he's ready for this big moment.
“This is something I really never anticipated as a golfer, so it’s an extra bonus," DeLaet said on the Golf Channel. "There’s a little bit of extra pride, and it’s really the first time I’ve been nervous on the first tee in a while. There was just something a little extra special."
After becoming the first Swedish-born player to win a major this summer, Henrik Stenson is on a mission to win gold. He fired an opening-round 5-under 66 despite playing in the afternoon's blustery conditions. At No. 5 in the world rankings, Stenson is the top-ranked player in the field.
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England's Justin Rose, who on the par-3 fourth hole recorded the first hole-in-one in Olympics history, shot a 4-under 67 despite playing in the tough conditions. Rose was joined at 4 under by Spain's Rafa Cabrera-Bello, France's Gregory Bourdy, Germany's Alex Cejka and Belgium's Thomas Pieters.
Fellow Belgian, Nicolas Colsaerts, shot a 3-under 68 with three birdies in his last four holes.
Missing among all of the low scores are the four Americans who made the trip to Brazil. Matt Kuchar did rally to shoot a 2-under 69, but he's the lone American in red figures.
"It’s just amazing, the whole experience," Kuchar said on the Golf Channel. "Walking around the village was really inspiring. Having the chance to earn one gold is an amazing thing.”
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Patrick Reed, who entered the competition as one of the favorites because of his bulldog mentality in international events and recent form on the PGA Tour, disappointed with a 1-over 72. Bubba Watson took time away from being a spectator at the Olympics to shoot a 2-over 73.
Yet, the most disappointing of them all was Rickie Fowler. Fowler's form had started to improve in the last month, and many American golf fans turned to him as a hope to wear gold on Sunday. His 4-over 75 virtually eliminated that possibility.