Debutant Dou is playing for a podium finish

China's Marty Dou Zecheng has a vivid memory of the first time he watched the Olympic Games on TV, which he hopes will help him land on the medal podium of the men's golf competition in Paris this August.

The 27-year-old Dou will make his Olympic debut alongside close friend Carl Yuan Yechun, where the duo will look to upset the odds against the likes of world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Xander Schauffele and world No 3 Rory McIlroy.

As a 7-year-old, Dou recalls celebrating with the entire nation when Liu Xiang sensationally delivered China's first-ever Olympic gold medal in a sprint event at the 2004 Athens Games.

"My very first Olympic memory was watching Liu Xiang win the 110m hurdles," recalled Dou. "I was really excited, and I think every Olympic champion is awesome and a role medal. They are challenging the limits of the human body, while representing their country."

Currently ranked 356th in the world, Dou, who has split his time playing on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour this season, knows full well that he and Yuan will need to produce a Herculean effort at Le Golf National in Paris from Aug 1-4 to have any chance of a podium finish.

While Liu will serve as his inspiration, the success of Rory Sabbatini of Slovakia and Chinese Taipei's CT Pan, who won the silver and bronze, respectively, at Tokyo 2020 proves that winning a medal in golf is not such a long shot. Sabbatini qualified for Tokyo as the 161st ranked golfer in the world, while Pan was ranked 181st.

"Only 60 male golfers will play in the Olympics. Anything is possible. No matter who is there, Xander or Scottie, it is possible for me to get a medal," said Dou. "The Olympics will be my focus, since I missed qualification twice previously. Both times, I was ranked third among the Chinese players.

"I have never played at Le Golf National, and I have heard it is somewhat similar to TPC Sawgrass in terms of difficulty. The only time I played in France was when I represented China in a junior tournament. I'll certainly take time to learn the course from the Monday of the tournament week."

He recently completed a hectic run of eight consecutive tournaments on both the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour, where he posted one top-10 finish at the Adventhealth Championship on the former, and missed one cut. With limited access to the PGA Tour after he finished 132nd on the FedExCup points list last season, Dou conceded it has been difficult to plan his playing schedule effectively, as he is often on the reserve list, and making last-minute travel plans.

"I am always waiting for playing opportunities on the PGA Tour, and also need to plan my schedule on the Korn Ferry Tour. It is difficult to balance my schedule and focus on both tours. I think it has affected my rhythm this season," he said.

"When I play every week, I find that I don't have time for practice and to make adjustments. Sometimes, I doubt myself whenever I hit bad shots. I'm trying to not put pressure on myself, and then hopefully good shots will come."

He has received a start in this week's John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour and plans to add a couple more events on his schedule before returning to China later this month. He will then head to Paris with Team China's Olympic contingent.

Dou intends to watch some other events during his time off from golf in Paris. "I plan to watch badminton, table tennis and the 100m sprint. I played badminton when I was young, and I like table tennis too," he said.

A three-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, Dou has enjoyed two seasons on the PGA Tour and, while he did not retain full playing rights on both occasions, he is in no rush to rejoin the elite circuit. "I am just looking to enjoy my golf more and enjoy life. My aim is to keep improving my skills," said Dou.