Joel Girrbach performs better than expected on the first day of the top-class Olympic golf tournament. The 31-year-old from Thurgau is in 21st place after the first round with 2 under par.
Girrbach, who was promoted to the PGA European Tour this season, started with three birdies on the first six holes and only played over par twice. Tied 21st after the first quarter, he is in the top third of the 60-strong world-class field led by season dominators Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler.
Japan's Hideki Matsuyama is at the top with 8 under par. The Americans Schauffele and Scheffler are in a favorable position in the interim standings in second place and tied sixth.
Schauffele, who has won two majors this year with the US PGA Championship in Louisville and the British Open, is two strokes behind Matsuyama, while world number one Scheffler is one stroke behind the medal places.
