Rory McIlroy says the bumper crowd at the first round of the Olympic men's golf tournament "exceeded expectations" as he voiced how important a successful week at Le Golf National could be for the sport.
McIlroy shot a solid first-round 68 in Paris to keep in touch with the leaders after the opening 18 holes of what is an important event for him personally and the future of Olympic golf.
While there's been opinion voiced on the Olympic golf field, format and qualifying criteria, what cannot be argued is how important a successful tournament could be in growing the sport.
The Olympics has a global reach that goes far beyond the wildest dreams of most sports - golf included - and the Games are the biggest showcase there is to attract new followers.
And after a bumper crowd made for a great atmosphere in Paris despite so much other sport going on, McIlroy says it was a great experience.
"Unbelievable. It was surprising," McIlroy said of the crowd atmosphere. "With so many events going on spread all across the city, for people to venture out here and to watch us play, it was a really cool atmosphere to play in.
"I thought the weekend it might get a few more people. I thought the first couple days might be a little bit quieter but it was awesome.
"I think the crowd support that we all got out there was amazing. Obviously there's a few more flags and there's a bit more, I don't know what the word is, like nationalism. But we were all really well supported out there. It was great to see."
With so many general sports fans finding different events for the first time, McIlroy said it was nice to see and hear newer fans in the crowd - which is a crucial aspect of a successful golfing week.
"I'd say maybe 25 percent were more of a casual crowd or sports crowd rather than a golf crowd," he added. "It's nice to play in front of that because it provides a bit more energy.
"As I said, I don't really know what I expected today but this definitely exceeded those expectations."
And although the Olympics will remain behind the Majors in terms of importance in golf, and good week in Paris would help improve its standing - while also boosting the sport as a whole.
"I mean, from an overall maybe health of the sport and game and sort of where it sits, where this competition sits amongst the hierarchy of the tournaments that we have, yeah, it's probably an important week."
McIlroy is also determined to enjoy his Olympic experience, having watched Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in the tennis in person and seeing Ireland team-mate Daniel Wiffen win the 800m freestyle gold in the pool.
"I watched it on TV," McIlroy said. "The last hundred he swam was incredible. Yeah, unbelievable. And then apparently I haven't seen it, apparently his 1500 is better than his 800. Excited for Saturday to see if he can get a second gold."
