Marcus Fraser today became the first Australian golfer to strike a ball in Olympic competition, and responded to the call of history by shooting a stunning eight under par to lead the field as golf returned to the Games for the first time in over a century.
The 38 year-old from Corowa, NSW, now based in Melbourne, rocketed to the top of the leader board and stayed there after notching a total of nine birdies in his spectacular early round.
His only blemish came at the par four second, which he bogeyed, but he recovered with a string of four straight birdies to set up a day he will never forget.
He shot a blistering 63 to lead by three shots from Sweden’s British Open champion Henrik Stenson and Canadian Graham Delaet. A group including Great Britain's Justin Rose were a further shot back.
“Every week we play for ourselves in normal tournaments, but this week we’re playing for our country first and ourselves second,” Fraser said.
“Somebody yelled out, ‘You’ve got the Olympic record’, so that’s pretty cool. Hopefully that lasts for the whole week. It’s one of the best rounds I have ever played.”
Fraser’s wife Carlie was on hand to see him make history, and he said his kids Archie, 7, and Lily, 5, would no doubt watch him on TV with their grandparents in the morning in Melbourne.
“They’ll wake up in a state of shock to see their old man is leading the Olympics,” he said.
Fraser said the sense of occasion in playing in the Olympic Games had made him “edgy” and “jumpy” on the first tee, but he responded by hitting his best drive, saying: “Thank God that’s out of the way.”
“A lot of Aussies were out there yelling and screaming, as they do, and that kept me going along.”
He said there was a great buzz in the locker room which was different from the normal pro tours.
“My kids will be able to say their dad went to the Olympics. A big part of why I wanted to come was for them.”
Fraser owes his inclusion in the Australian team to the withdrawal of stars including Jason Day and Adam Scott, who pulled out citing family concerns over the Zika virus in Brazil.
“I kept watching the world rankings. At one point I was in the team, and at one point I was out of the team,” he said.
“I respect the decision they made, but I’m glad they decided not to come because I really want to be here. It’s something I will look back on later in life and really appreciate.”
Fraser said he had been struggling with his swing earlier in the week, and had appreciated help given by team captain Ian Baker-Finch.
Australia’s second player, Queenslander Scott Hend, carded a disappointing three over par 74, posting a horrendous 10 at the par five 10th after he drove into rough before doing some bunker-hopping.
"I played some great shots out here today but got caught out by how bad the bunkering is here, how bad the sand is, and buried myself on 10. It's way too deep,” Hend said.
"It's a foot and a half, two foot of sand there. It's shocking."
Golf has only been played twice before at the Olympics, in 1900 in Paris and St Louis in 1904. Fraser said he had never heard of the last Olympic male champion, George Lyon of Canada.
The 60-man field continues the second round of the 72-hole stroke play tournament tomorrow.
Doug Conway
olympics.com.au
