Hideki Matsuyama still remembers the moment.

Three years ago in Tokyo, Matsuyama, with the weight of the host nation squarely on his shoulders, found himself in a seven-way playoff battle for an Olympic medal. But a missed short par putt on the first extra hole ended Matsuyama’s bid for bronze early, and Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan ultimately prevailed over American Collin Morikawa on a fourth playoff hole.

“I have no energy or endurance left at this point, but I kept fighting at the end with my heart,” a dejected Matsuyama told reporters afterward. “Unfortunately, I fell short at the end.”

Matsuyama is back for a second Olympics, this time at Le Golf National outside of Paris. Ranked 12th in the world, he has won three times since Tokyo, twice in the following months (2021 Zozo Championship, 2022 Sony Open) and most recently at this year’s Genesis Invitational. But he’s also battled numerous injuries, including a lingering neck issue the past couple years and a bad back, which knocked him out of this May’s Wells Fargo Championship.

“I'm very much thankful, grateful to come back to the Olympics,” Matsuyama said, “and I'll do my best."

Entering Paris, Matsuyama has cooled off a bit since back-to-back top-10s, at the Memorial and U.S. Open, though the green jacket winner, who is one of two Japanese players competing in the men’s golf competition (Keita Nakajima is the other), wholly believes he can finally get on the podium.

The key will be not dwelling too much on what happened three years ago.

“It's still a tough moment … but if I stick to that memory, I won't be able to play professional tournaments,” Matsuyama said. “So, I don't keep that mindset.”