France’s Victor Perez hits opening tee shot at Paris Olympics, a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – Frenchman Victor Perez struck Thursday’s opening tee shot at the men’s Olympic golf competition, a memory he will cherish forever.

Making the moment sweeter: he striped it down the middle.

Perez, 31, arrived at the first tee shortly before 9 a.m. local time at Le Golf National outside Paris and was met with rabid fan support for his Olympics debut. The three-time DP World Tour winner recovered from a slow start with a 1-under 70 to remain within striking distance of medal contention; Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama took the early lead with an 8-under 63.

Perez was delighted with his birdie-birdie finish, but he was still beaming post-round with pride for the chance to lead off the field on home soil. The first tee is normally associated with jitters, but Perez strived for a different mindset in these circumstances. He delivered.

“I mean, nobody enjoys the first tee, I think, ever,” Perez said afterward. “But I told myself on the range, I told my caddie James, I was like, let's be there the full 10 minutes before and really soak it all in. It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime (experience). I'll never hit this tee shot ever again – opening the games in Paris, being French and having all the home support.

“There wasn't going to be more pressure whether I was there for 10 minutes or four minutes, so I was just like, ‘You may as well be there and then try to just take it all in, enjoy the people,’ and it was great.”

Perez is representing France alongside fellow dual DP World Tour and PGA TOUR member Matthieu Pavon in the 60-player field that features eight of the top 10 on the Official World Golf Ranking. After mixing four bogeys with one birdie on the front nine to hit the turn in 39, Perez bounced back impressively with birdies at the 11th and 15th before closing out his day in style to loud cheers. It marked a scintillating back-nine 31 that flipped his fortunes.

“I think the people, the French really enjoyed having golf here … I think it was great for them to enjoy having Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, just off The Open win," he added. “They were there on the range before the round, even cheering me on, boosting me up. It worked for the first tee shot. Didn't really work for the front nine, but besides that, it was great.”

Le Golf National holds a special place in Perez’ heart, as he competed here as an aspiring junior golfer. Those memories came to the surface on Thursday.

“We played the under-12, under-14, under-16 French juniors here, and I remember all staying in the Novotel on site and coming out at 9:00 doing putting games against the older guys and trying to win and playing for a Coca-Cola or something,” he said. “So, this place is very special for me.”

Asked to compare how the feeling of playing in an Olympics in France compared to the high of winning his maiden DP World Tour title at St. Andrews, Perez said it was hard to compare. But this experience, he knew, will remain in the mental library forever.

“Back when I won in St. Andrews in 2019, it was my first year on Tour, a life-changing win for everything that comes with it, whether it's exemptions and everything,” he said. “This is kind of a little bit more isolated, I would say. This just sticks out a little bit more.”