[Photo: Getty images]
Jason Day will tee off Thursday night (AEST) in his debut Olympics motivated to represent Australia with a hot performance at Le Golf National.
Day was publicly criticised in 2016 when, as golf’s world No.1, he joined several other big names in skipping the Rio de Janeiro edition due to concerns about the Zika virus in Brazil.
But with the benefit of hindsight, and having overcome injuries and a major form slump, Day is champing at the bit to try and add an Olympic gold medal to his trophy cabinet. It already includes a major, the 2015 PGA Championship, and the 2016 Players Championship title among 11 other PGA Tour victories.
“I’ve been playing professional golf for 18 years, so it would be nice to look back one day and know you competed in the Olympics and won a medal, let alone it being gold,” Day said. “You’re not only doing it for yourself, you’re doing it for a country.
“There is a little bit of pressure I put on myself. When I think about it, I get kind of nervous about it which means I really care about it. I know I will definitely be emotional about (the Australian anthem). It is hard to project myself forward and think about that. I will probably most likely end up crying. If I hear a national anthem, typically I shed a tear anyway. It means something to me, you know?”
For Min Woo Lee, he’s excited to tee up in one of the strongest fields he’s played this year outside the majors. Eight of the world’s top 10 golfers will compete at the men’s Olympics golf tournament in a field comprised of 60 men from 32 nations.
A small part of Lee’s motivation comes not receiving sponsor’s invitations to any of the PGA Tour’s 70-player Signature events this year. Although he didn’t qualify through several existing criteria, he was among the top 35 players on the world rankings and sat in the top 65 on the tour’s own FedEx Cup standings for most of the year.
He owns two runner-up results on the PGA Tour and a handful of additional top-25s this year. Lee did qualify for all four major championships in 2024, the biggest championships in golf.
“Yeah, it kind of sucks not playing the signature events,” Lee told ABC. “Playing my way into the majors and then not getting into these events, it kind of feels a little sour. I’m trying not to dwell on it. I just try to play as good as I can to get into these events and to play against the best
“I’m excited [for the Olympics]. Obviously the American side [led by world No.1 Scottie Scheffler and two-time major winner Xander Schauffele] is very strong and they’ve probably got one of the better chances, so I’m just going to work hard and hopefully the results show when it’s time.”
Tee times (AEST)
Olympic Golf (Men)
Paris 2024
Le Golf National, France
5:33pm Min Woo Lee
5:55pm Jason Day
LIVE SCORES: https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/results/golf/men-s-individual-stroke-play/fnl
TV COVERAGE:
*All times AEST. Rounds One-Four: Thursday-Sunday from 5pm (Nine, 9Now, Stan)
Link to 9Now: https://www.9now.com.au/shows/2024-olympic-games
