Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, other stars off to solid starts at Olympic Golf Competition

Two of the world’s most popular players turned in solid opening rounds at the Men’s Olympic Golf Competition in Paris on Thursday.

Scottie Scheffler shot a 4-under 67, a score that featured four birdies and no bogies. The top-ranked player in the world is tied for sixth, four strokes behind leader Hideki Matsuyama.

“I felt like I could have posted a better number,” Scheffler said.

“But overall, I felt like I did a lot of really good things, and I’m hoping to continue that over the next few days.”

One stroke behind Scheffler lies Rory McIlroy, who had much more of an up-and-down round. McIlroy had four bogies, including a three-putt bogey on the last hole. But he also had five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 9th, all of which added up to a 3-under 68.

“It was okay. Solid start,” McIlroy assessed.

“I didn’t do a whole lot between The Open and here. Some good. Some not so good. A solid opening round. A little disappointing with the three-putt at the last. Overall, as I said, a solid start and something to build upon.”

The last time the golfing world saw McIlroy play in a tournament, he missed the cut at Royal Troon by a wide margin. His game looked lost at the famed Ayrshire Links, which shocked many.

Scheffler, meanwhile, played well at Troon, but his putter completely abandoned him over the weekend. He ranked 136th among the 158-player field in strokes gained putting, losing a shade over three strokes on the greens. His disastrous three-putt on the par-4 9th during the final round sealed his fate, denying him a chance to win his third major title and first Claret Jug.

His putting improved somewhat on Thursday in Paris, although he still lost 0.407 shots to the field, good for 35th. Still, Scheffler, unlike McIlroy, did not make any major mistakes during round one.

Other notable players at 4-under-par include Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Jon Rahm, and Alex Noren.

Overall, 41 of the 60 players in this competition posted under-par scores during the first round, as a Wednesday rain dampened the course and created easier scoring conditions. Players could attack the flags without worry, thus leading to plenty of birdies and a few eagles on day one.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.