One of the things missing from golf’s return to the Olympics was major fan support. Not in France.

When golf returned in 2016, it did so in Rio de Janeiro, a place where golf is not a popular sport. So, there weren’t many fans at the Olympic venue that year. Then three years ago in Tokyo, fans weren’t allowed due to the COVID pandemic.

But in Europe, and Paris more specifically, an estimated 30,000 fans showed up at Le Golf National on the first day of play.

“The environment and the atmosphere was certainly a little more energetic than I was expecting, which is cool,” said Rory McIlroy, who finished T-4 in Tokyo.

Not only were there day-to-day golf fans roaming the fairways on Thursday, they were clad in their country’s colors and provided a big boost of energy that isn’t there for many events throughout the year.

“Not that,” Jason Day said of what he expected from the crowds.” “Definitely not that. I heard the crowd when I was on the putting green, screaming over there, and you go down the stairs, going from 1 to 2 to 3, it was impressive. It’s amazing how this week, this last week and a bit, it’s impressive to see how much sport brings a lot of people together.”

Every player raved about the atmosphere during the opening round, even those from countries that many consider rivals to the hosts.

“This is a real Olympic crowd and a lot of supporters that might not have watched the sport before,” Tommy Fleetwood said. “We had a lot of Great Britain supporters out there and that was really nice, even the fans from this country, as well, from France, being part of Europe as well helped me.

“A lot of people are on my side, and it was a great atmosphere to play in front of. We’re all surprised how many people were on the first couple holes when we set out playing. The Olympics is cool. It really is.”

So much for the “golf doesn’t belong in the Olympics” crowd.