Tommy Fleetwood kicked off his Olympic journey with a respectable four-under-par 67 at Le Golf National, putting him four strokes behind the clubhouse leader, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who sits at eight under. The round took place at the same venue where Fleetwood helped Europe secure Ryder Cup victory in 2018.
However, the British golfer's focus this week has been deeply impacted by a tragic incident in his hometown of Southport, where three young girls lost their lives in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed event on Monday.
"When one of you gets hurt, you feel like all of you do. That's just what home is," Fleetwood, 33, reflected on the tragedy. "Everybody is feeling it, for sure, but nobody as much as the families that are involved and that's what comes first. We all follow our dreams, whatever it is, and that's obviously a huge part of life but for those kids that won't have the chance and those families that have got to deal with it, it massively puts things into perspective."
Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick are the duo representing Great Britain in Paris, while Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are flying the flag for Ireland in the tournament.
