The day started well enough for Aussie golf star Min Woo Lee in Paris.

The Olympic debutant did not have to wait four years to compete in Paris like so many other gold medal hopefuls, but he was just as emotional, nonetheless.

“Emotionally, I felt it on the first hole when I got announced,” Lee said later.

DAY 6 WRAP: Golden girls and the GOAT deliver again, ugly controversy explodes

READ MORE: IOC slams ‘misleading’ reports on Algerian boxer

READ MORE: ‘Ho-ly!’: Aussie’s priceless reaction to GOAT contest

“I think that just shows how much it means to me and yeah, it was pretty cool. I nearly had a tear in my eye which is not normal. It was quite cool to get announced like that. I was pretty impressed with the crowd out here early on. I think it was really good.”

While the opening round began with a sense of perspective for Lee, the cold hard realities of golf hit the 26-year-old soon after.

The Aussie lost a ball on the first hole after his second shot found the water in front of the green, leading to a double-bogey six.

His Olympic debut continued to sink when he lost three more balls and made another double-bogey on the par-4 15th. He made three more bogeys and two birdies the rest of the round.

Lee finished with a 5-over 76, tied for last with Camilo Villegas.

“It was pretty garbage,” he told Nine. “But I was saying in the other interview, sometimes you’re going to go a little bit backwards to go forwards. Working on a couple things and there was a lot of good out there.

Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.

“But it’s just unfortunate as a player. You always want to play your best but sometimes the results don’t show that, especially at a course like this where it’s pretty tough and penalising.

“I felt like I was in all the penalties today. Didn’t drive it anywhere near as good I normally do. Normally I’m striping it lately.

“Hitting it pretty good off the tee but lots of water and lots of balls missing. Had to just kind of battle through that and yeah, it’s quite tough when you’re in thick hay most of the day.”

He added: “It’s nearly embarrassing. “You work so hard. I striped it yesterday. You’d thought I could shoot 10-under yesterday. It’s just a sport where that happens.

“It’s not like I was nervous or anything to produce those swings but just not comfortable when I was out there.”

Fellow Australian Jason Day was impressive and shot a 69 to sit two-under-par and six shots behind the leader, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama. Although he could have scored higher if not for a double bogey on the last hole.

“It’s just two uncommitted swings,” Day said of the final hole miss. “Just back off, readjust, and hit it again. Just don’t hit a shot you’re not committed to and pay the price for it.”

Day said he felt “nervous” after the emotional opening.

LIVE UPDATES: Paris 2024 Day 7 latest news, results

“The first couple of holes caught me off guard quite a lot actually,” he said. “I was quite nervous standing over the first tee shot and then it took me a few holes to get over it.

“This is the most nervous I’ve felt standing on a tee box wearing a set of clothes that I’m wearing for the first time. It’s a good feeling because it just shows that it means a lot to me.”

Matsuyama struck a 63 to put him two strokes ahead of defending Olympic golf gold medallist Xander Schauffele.

There is no 36-hole cut in the Olympics, giving Lee a chance to claw his way back into a respectable position, even though nabbing a medal would seem out of reach at this point.