Austria’s Sepp Straka, ranked 161st on the Official World Golf Ranking, led the field with a bogey-free eight-under-par 63 – equalling the Olympic golf record for lowest round – to earn himself a one-stroke lead over the field. It was a moment made even more sweet by the fact that his twin brother Sam caddied for him.

Bezuidenhout’s fellow South African, Garrick Higgo, began his Olympic journey with a level-par 71.

It was a low-scoring start to the competition as 47 golfers in the 60-man field shot par or better, and despite an over two-hour delay because of inclement weather.

“If you just put it in the fairway on this course you can really take advantage and I got hot with my irons, especially my short irons and wedges. I was really knocking down the flagstick and really tried to stay aggressive with those,” said Straka.