Xander Schauffele is in position to win back-to-back gold medals after taking a share of the halfway lead at the Olympics.

Only this time, the American has company.

Here’s what to watch for Saturday at Le Golf National, where there’s a three-way tie for the lead with Schauffele, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood at 11-under 131.

It looked like Matsuyama, the first-round leader, might again have the advantage heading into the weekend but a wild slice off the tee and a watery approach led to a sloppy double bogey to finish. It wasn’t much better for Fleetwood, whose lone miscue of the second round came when he found the fairway bunker on 18 and made bogey. Schauffele offset his two bogeys with seven birdies in another rock-solid round of 66.

Schauffele has much more experience in this nervy position, especially recently. He chased down the leaders Sunday at The Open, and he closed with a 65 in the final round of the PGA Championship to capture his first major title.

After romping to victory at Riviera in February, Matsuyama has had an uneven season while he tries to manage a back injury. Fleetwood prevailed earlier this year in Dubai but remains winless in the U.S. and on the biggest stages; he’s just 30th in the FedExCup race, right on the Tour Championship bubble, and lamented his lack of chances in contention this year.

“It’s a positioning battle coming out of that final stretch,” Schauffele said, “and all you’re trying to do is give yourself a chance on that back nine.” 

Arguably no player in the Olympic field is under more pressure this week than Kim, the 22-year-old South Korean who is facing the prospect of serving his nearly-two-year mandatory military service that could affect the prime of his career. Kim said he was unsure when, exactly, he’d have to fulfill the obligation to his home country.

Only a gold medal here in Paris would exempt him from that service.

Kim shot 68 in the second round and is three shots back of the lead after two rounds. He was one of the pre-tournament favorites for a few reasons: He has prior course knowledge, having teed it up in the French Open here last year, and he possesses the type of fairways-and-greens precision that is a good fit with so much rough.

It was clear afterward that Kim didn’t want to talk about the life-changing possibilities this weekend.

“I’ve actually responded to this a lot this week – I already said it in my press conference – but I’m just trying to focus on my game,” he said Friday. “I’m a competitor, and we all play for the same thing. It’s just golf. I’m just trying to put my head down and play.” 

When pressed about how this could potentially affect his life, Kim said: “Well, I understand that, but I’m 22 and I still have a lot of years left.”

So, he’s not sweating it?

“Exactly,” he said. 

Rory McIlroy, representing Ireland, enters the weekend six shots behind after a wild 45 minutes to end his round that included two birdies and a double bogey.

More than the deficit to erase, McIlroy’s greatest challenge may be the number of players he has to leapfrog onto the podium – there are currently 18 players at or within six shots.

And only three places matter this week.

McIlroy leads the field in approach through two rounds, a promising sign if his putter can start cooperating. He is ranked 54th in the 60-man field on the greens, losing more than three shots to the field.

America's Scottie Scheffler is another player who was likely to spend a little extra time on the practice putting green on Friday afternoon. He is tied for first in driving accuracy this week but also 48th in putting, limiting his potential to climb the board.

Matsuyama has made a field-best 15 birdies through two rounds. No surprise, he leads the field in putting, gaining more than five shots on the field on the greens. … After beginning the competition with three straight bogeys, Thomas Detry of Belgium bounced back with a Friday 63 – matching the low round of the week so far – that vaulted him all the way inside the top 5. Detry had top-15 finishes at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open this year. … Great Britain's Matt Fitzpatrick enjoyed the biggest improvement on Day 2, flipping a Thursday 73 into a Friday 64. He is now in a tie for 10th. … Chile's Joaquin Niemann (T-10) has made just three bogeys through two rounds. Two of those came on the par-4 18th hole. … Through two rounds, there have been more double bogeys or worse (16) on No. 18 than birdies (12). No other hole has produced more than nine doubles or worse this week (9, on No. 15).