Rory McIlroy left shocked by Olympic golf experience after previous scepticism
Rory McIlroy was left pleasantly surprised by the electric atmosphere at the first round of the Olympic men’s golf tournament.
He shot a first-round 68 to stay within touching distance of the leaders at Le Golf National in an event he described as ‘important for the sport’.
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McIlroy has not always been an fan of Olympic golf having claimed the sport ‘did not matter’ at the Games shortly after pulling out of the Rio games eight years ago.
He also cited the outbreak of the Zika virus as a key reason for his non-participation, before making a dramatic U-turn to compete at Tokyo in 2021.
Now, a hyped-up Parisian crowd appears to have increased his renewed optimism and quest for an Olympic gold medal.
McIlroy was expecting a decent turnout at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue this weekend but was left wide eyed at how many rocked up on Thursday.
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Around 25,000 fans followed the star trio of McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg in the first round, leaving the Irishman shocked.
"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."
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Figures have voiced differing opinions on aspects of Olympic golf including its format and qualifying criteria.
With the spotlight on a multitude of other sports over the 16-day games and track and field events set to take the centre stage this weekend, McIlroy says the swathes of new fans in the crowd is critical for the sports’s growth.
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"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."
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McIlroy’s stance on Olympic golf has slowly softened since his Rio boycott and showed as much by narrowly missing out on a bronze medal at the Tokyo games in 2021.
As much as the Irishman would like nothing more than to add an elusive gold to his roll of honour, boosting golf’s standing at the games remains a priority.
McIlroy and Shane Lowry are Ireland’s big hopes in Paris and the 35-year-old will be hoping to put a difficult year behind him after falling short at the Masters and PGA Championship and more recently, missing the cut at The Open.
He said: "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."
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McIlroy sits one shot adrift of Scheffler after the first day in the three-ball with the American carding a 4-under 68.
Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama leads the way after making a lightening start after 18 holes.
Matsuyama fired a superb 8-under 63 to open up a two-shot lead over defending Olympic champion Xander Schauffele (65).
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