French golfers Victor Perez and Matthieu Pavon had very different experiences at their home Olympic Games.
Perez thrived with the support of the home crowd, finishing just one stroke away from a medal after a fantastic round of 63 on Sunday.
On the other hand, Pavon struggled with nerves and ended up last among the 58 players who finished four rounds .
Women’s Olympic Golf Event:
As the women’s Olympic golf event in Paris 2024 approaches, starting on Wednesday, Celine Boutier and Perrine Delacour are preparing to handle high expectations from their supporters. Boutier mentioned how they visited L’Albatros course during the men’s tournament to feel the atmosphere, noting that the large crowds made it hard to see what was happening on the fairway.
Boutier shared her experience: “I wanted to sing ‘La Marseillaise’ on the first tee but nobody did. It was super cool even though I couldn’t see anything because of all the people.”
Fans might wonder if this pressure will affect their performance.
30,000 tickets were available each day at Le Golf National. If sold out or nearly so, it would be one of the largest audiences many of these 60 women have ever played before.
Delacour, who won her first Ladies European Tour title earlier this season, spoke with Pavon about handling big crowds and passionate fans. She said she asked him how he felt on the first tee for some tips to prepare for Wednesday’s start.
His advice? Just one word: “Breathe.”
Delacour explained that Pavon struggled emotionally on his first tee last Thursday but learned to manage it better as the week went on. This helped her realize she needs rest early in the week to maintain energy over four days.
The women’s event will also be four days of individual stroke play without any cuts. Delacour will start at 9am local time (3am ET/8am BST) while Boutier tees off at 11:55am local time (5:55am ET/10:55am BST).
What do you think? Will they handle it well?
