“It’s hard to say,” said confused Rory McIlroy when asked whether the Olympics will become like a major tournament. Interestingly, Jon Rahm shared similar thoughts on the matter. However, on just the first day of golf at Le Golf National, some surprising revelations are coming defying the odds. What are these?

Is golf at the Olympics on par with the majors?

A few days ago, Rahm joined the press conference at the Le Golf National and was asked about his thoughts on the same. The 29-year-old was hesitant about his answer and said “Golf’s history with the Olympics is so young right now that it may not have the magnitude or recognition that it could have in the future.” While talking about it he further added that the four majors will always be the biggest part for the golf fans. Interestingly on the same day, McIlroy had similar thoughts.

The four-time major winner believed “It’s hard to say [whether the Olympics will become like a major], as even this week, the way the qualification system works, not all the best players in the world are here,” as revealed by him to BBC Sports website. However, after some latest revelations, both the pros are proven wrong.

Recently @Sean_Zak, a writer at Golf.com shared a post on X captioning “There are a LOT of ppl at Le Golf National today. Way more than I expected.” Highlighting the fact about the crowd he also said the vibe at Le Golf National is looking good and fans are enjoying the game on just the first day of golf at the Olympics.

As per some other reports on X the crowd is around 25,000, especially for the group of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Ludvig Aberg. Yes, the crowd is still lesser than the major championships, but considering golf is played at the Olympics only for a third time in the past 8 years and this was the turnout on just the first day, it is still a significant number. Interestingly, Rahm and McIlroy have similar views on more than just the level of golf at the Olympics.

Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy are almost equally patriotic

Rory McIlroy missed out on the 2016 Olympics because of health concerns about the Zika virus. Coming to the year 2020 he played at the Tokyo Olympics but still wasn’t led by the same emotion as the other participants. As per BBC Sports, he said “I am not a very patriotic guy, I am doing it because I think it is the right thing to do,” when asked about his patriotism. However, over the years the Irishman has had a change of heart and he is now more patriotic toward representing his country at the Olympics and eyeing gold this time.

Meanwhile Jon Rahm on a personal level has always been patriotic and said “To be able to win a Gold Medal for your country is always going to have much more meaning for yourself than it might to the public, right?” Although he was unsure about the level of the Olympics, the Spaniard is excited to play at the Le Golf National.

Do you think golf at the Paris Olympics can pull out the crowd on the level of the major championships?