Why was round 1 of golf at the Paris Olympics suspended?

The first round of the Paris Olympics men's individual stroke play event is underway at the serene Le Golf National course. Although the majority of the sixty-player field has completed 18 holes, six groups are yet to finish the day.

Paris and its surrounding areas are under a severe thunderstorm warning until Friday, August 2. With the last group of players stuck on the 14th hole, play has been suspended due to lightning strikes in the area. The International Golf Federation (IGF) has issued an official statement announcing the halt. The statement read:

"Weather Update: Round 1 of the Olympics golf men's competition was interrupted at 16:26 due to lightning in the area. An update will be provided when available. "

An update on play was issued by the International Golf Federation (IGF) at 4:50 PM local time. With play suspended at 4:26 PM for the safety of players, spectators, and officials, the players were swiftly moved off the course to shelter. The IGF expects play to resume at 5:05 PM local time and practice facilities have now been re-opened for players to warm up as they prepare to head back out on the course.

Expand Tweet

2024 Paris Olympics Live Leaderboard

With six groups yet to finish the first round at the 2024 Paris Olympics, here's a look into the current top 20 players on the leaderboard. The number of holes completed by a player is mentioned in the parenthesis, with "F" denoting that all 18 holes have been completed by the player.

1. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan): -8 (F)
T-2. Xander Schauffele (United States): -6 (17)
T-2. Carlos Ortiz (Mexico): -6 (15)
T-4. Joaquin Neimann (Chile): -5 (F)
T-4. Emiliano Grillo (Argentina): -5 (F)
T-4. Tom Kim (Korea): -5 (F)
T-4. Mito Pereira (Chile): -5 (14)
T-8. Alex Noren (Sweden): -4 (F)
T-8. Ryan Fox (New Zealand): -4 (F)
T-8. Tommy Fleetwood (Great Britain): -4 (F)
T-8. Sepp Straka (Austria): -4 (F)
T-8. Scottie Scheffler (United States): -4 (F)
T-8. Sami Valimaki (Finland): -4 (F)
T-8. Erik van Rooyen (South Africa): - 4 (F)
T-8. Jon Rahm (Spain): -4 (17)
T-16. Matthias Schmid (Germany): -3 (F)
T-16. Alejandro Tosti (Argentina): -3 (F)
T-16. Cory Conners (Canada): -3 (F)
T-16. Rory McIlroy (Ireland): -3 (F)
T-16. Ludvig Aberg (Sweden): -3 (F)
T-16. Guido Migliozzi (Italy): -3 (F)
T-16. Viktor Hovland (Norway): -3 (17)
T-16. Joel Girrbach (Switzerland): -3 (14)

About the author

Lathika is one of the newer additions to Sportskeeda’s budding golf journalism team and has brought plenty of in-game experience to the role. Having been a golfer for over 12 years now, some of her crowning achievements include winning titles on the Indian Golf Union Ladies tour and Junior Girls Amateur tour.

She currently competes in Division 1 golf in New York, and hopes to play in the U.S. Open and Chevron Championship one day. She is set to cover the 2025 Ryder Cup as well. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management, and holds a Sports Marketing certification from Northwestern University, which helped her learn to draft press releases and ultimately transition into journalism.

Lathika has thus developed a knowledge base that allows her to view golf from both player, spectator and media lenses, enabling her to bring statistics, insights and an understanding of fan emotion together in her copies. She only uses verified information from reliable sources like the PGA TOUR.

Her favorite golfers are Nelly Korda and Tiger Woods, both for their playing style as well as their mental strength. Much of her time away from work is spent playing golf, but she also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and learning new hobbies or upskilling.

Know More

Edited by Prathik BR