Le Golf National was easy pickings in Round 1, expect Round 2 to be the same

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — If you thought Thursday's low scoring in the first round of the Olympics might have inspired a sterner course setup, guess again. The plan is the plan, said Kerry Haigh, interim CEO of the PGA of America and part of the team handling course setup at Le Golf National’s Albatros Course.

While 12 holes in the second round will feature pins within five paces of an edge, Haigh said the course in the second round will allow for low scoring for well-played shots, particularly for approaches coming from the fairway.

“It's been perfect playing conditions, really no wind,” he said. “You’ve got the best players from every country so you would hope they would score well.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of good scoring opportunities.”

That’s exactly what happened Thursday as nearly a quarter of the scores recorded for the day were birdie or eagle. In the first round, 11 of the hole locations were within five paces of an edge.

Thursday’s softer conditions will continue again on Friday as another half-inch of rain fell overnight (play was delayed late Thursday with the threat of lightning and there were slight downpours). It’s the fourth day in the last week that’s seen some rain, although the course seems to have dried out well and the greens continue to roll smoothly.

With players potentially taking a more aggressive approach, given that only the top-three positions on the leaderboard are all that matters, Haigh said that doesn’t factor into the setup in any way.

“That’s more about how the players approach it, not how we set it up,” he said. “That should make it fun to watch, and I think we should have a lot of players in contention, hopefully playing well, making birdies. That’s better, especially for the crowd, than watching a bunch of guys grinding away with pars.”

Haigh does not expect Le Golf National to get firm the rest of the week, either. The forecast calls for zero rain the rest of the week. Winds on Friday will be between 5 and 10 miles per hour, with a few gusts reaching 19 miles per hour (about 5 mph stronger than Thursday). That will be similar for the weekend with slightly lighter gusts.

“We want it to be a fair challenge, a good challenge and a strong challenge, and good shots are rewarded and in these conditions they will be,” he said.

In early scoring, three of the first seven holes are playing over par.