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SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Xander Schauffele stayed on path to defend his Olympic gold with the early clubhouse lead on the second day of the men’s golf competition at the 2024 Games on Friday, unperturbed by a brush with an anthill when he strayed into the rough.

Schauffele shot a five-under-par 66 for his second round to reach 11 under and draw level with overnight leader Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who was also at 11 under after 15 holes and Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood among those to shine, also reaching 11 under par by the 15th hole.

In-form Schauffele, who won last month’s British Open to claim his second major title this year, again brushed off some occasional poor shots to keep his score ticking over.

“If you do hit a bad shot it’s easier to accept it because you know you’re playing really good golf and you can make it up somewhere else,” he told reporters after his round.

Hitting the rough along the 13th fairway, he discovered his ball was lying on an anthill and sought advice from tournament officials before hacking his way on towards a bogey.

“I’ve had burrowing animal issues but not like an antpile that you can’t really move,” he said.

Matsuyama, who just missed out on bronze on home soil three years ago in a playoff, suffered his first bogeys of the competition after an unblemished first round, but still improved his score with a string of birdies.

Fleetwood, who started the day on four under, hit an eagle and five birdies after 15 holes to join the Schauffele and Matsuyama on 11 under.

The 60 contenders will all play four rounds in a stroke play format at the venue that hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup.

France had a mixed day, with the country’s top-ranked player Matthieu Pavon slipping to four over, while Victor Perez stayed within touch of the leaders at five under.

–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media