Lee Min-woo spoke frankly about his start to the Paris Olympics, describing it as “garbage.”
He started with a five-over 76, which put him tied for last place with Camilo Villegas.
“It’s disappointing as a player because you always want to do your best but sometimes the results don’t reflect that, especially on a course like this one, which is quite tough and puts you at a disadvantage,” Li said.
“I felt like I took all the penalties today. I didn’t hit it as well as I normally do. Usually, the ball’s been dropping lately. I feel pretty good off the tee, but it’s full of water and the ball just flies off. I just had to get through it. Yeah, it’s pretty tough when you’re in the hay bushes for most of the day.”
Lee lost a golf ball on the first hole when his second shot went into the water in front of the green, resulting in a double bogey of six, then lost three more golf balls and double bogeyed again on the par-four 15th hole.
“It’s almost embarrassing. I’ve been working hard. I made the score yesterday. I thought I could shoot 10 under yesterday,” Lee added.
“That’s what happens in sport. It’s not that I was nervous to take that swing or anything, I just wasn’t comfortable out there.”
Perhaps the power of the Olympics overwhelmed Lee and caused him to lose focus.
“It didn’t really sink in on the first hole, but I felt it emotionally on the first hole when they told me I’d won, so I think that shows how much it means to me,” Lee said.
“I nearly cried. It’s not normal. I’m really glad it was announced like that. I was really moved by the reaction of the crowd early on. It was really nice. But it wasn’t because I was nervous. I just cried because I was selected for the team and I’m representing Australia. It’s a weird feeling. I didn’t expect to have that reaction. But it’s really nice. It just shows how much it means to me. It was quite embarrassing, obviously, because I was just playing normal golf, but hopefully I can make up for it in the next few days.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
