Marcus Fraser leads after day one in Rio

• Aussie leads after opening round of men’s golf event
• Cards eight-under 63 to lead by three from De Laet
• Meanwhile, Justin Rose makes history with hole-in-one

Olympic Men’s Golf: Rnd 1
-8 Marcus Fraser; -5 Graham DeLaet; -4 Thomas Pieters, Gregory Bourdy, Alex Cjeka, Justin Rose, Rafa Cabrera-Bello; -3 Byeong Hun An, Nicolas Colsaerts Selected others: -2 Sergio Garcia; Level Danny Willett; +4 Rickie Fowler

Marcus Fraser holds a three-shot lead at the end of the first round of the men’s Olympic golf tournament.

The Australian carded a near-flawless eight-under 63 to take an early lead in Rio de Janeiro, with Canada’s Graham DeLaet – out in the opening group – sitting in a share of second place on five-under alongside Open champion and pre-tournament favourite, Henrik Stenson.

Read more – Twitter reacts to golf’s Olympic return

Five players – Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, Gregory Bourdy of France and Germany’s Alex Cjeka, as well as Team GB’s Justin Rose and Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello – are a further shot adrift in fourth.

“This is probably one of the best rounds of golf I’ve ever played” – Marcus Fraser

Fraser, 38, is bidding to become the first Olympic golf champion since Canadian George Lyon in 1904. The three-time European Tour winner got off to a fast start, too. After giving back the shot he picked up at the first with a bogey-five at the par-4 second, he birdied his next four holes to get to four-under at the turn. Further birdies at the tenth, 13th, 16th and 18th saw him home in impressive style.

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“I felt like I did everything really well today and really deserved eight-under,” said Fraser afterwards. “I think this is probably one of the best rounds of golf I’ve ever played for sure. I think given the circumstances, I was quite edgy and a bit jumpy on the first tee, because it’s such a big occasion to be here at the Olympics. To manage that and go on to play the way I did is really pleasing and a big confidence boost.

“It’s something I’ll never forget, this round, that’s for sure” – Marcus Fraser

Asked to describe the feeling of being an Olympian, Fraser added: “It was a pretty surreal feeling but I managed to do a pretty good job of keeping it in check, but yeah, it’s something I’ll never forget, this round, that’s for sure.”

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Meanwhile, Team GB’s Justin Rose wrote his own little piece of Olympics history by recording what is believed to be the first-ever hole-in-one in the Games.

Read more -> Justin Rose sets sights on Olympic gold

Playing alongside America’s Rickie Fowler and Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela in the penultimate group of the day, the 36-year-old former US Open champion aced the par-3 fourth. You can watch the incredible moment below.

.@TeamGB‘s @JustinRose99 perfect! pic.twitter.com/a51HQH7SUg

— Farah (@MARDUK_FFC) August 11, 2016

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Marcus Fraser: Did you know…

Marcus Fraser only got into the Australian Olympic team after Adam Scott, Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones passed up the opportunity. “I’m glad they decided not to come,” he said after his first round.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor