Scottie Scheffler tees off as fans look on beyond the rings during the first round of the Olympic men's golf competition. (Keyur Khamar/Getty Images)

GUYANCOURT, France — I’m not sure how many different ways there are to pronounce "Rory," but I’m pretty sure I heard most of them while following the marquee players in Thursday’s opening Olympic round at Le Golf National.

A French-accented dropped-R "Rory." A German-accented sharp-R "Rory." Spanish.

Japanese. English. Irish. Good ol’ American. Rory McIlroy, playing for Ireland, inspired them all, and waves of "Allons-y!" ("Let’s go!") chants radiated out across the course. There were flags everywhere, shouts and cheers for players of every nation.

"It’s just fun, such a unique crowd not like the typical American crowd at home that is yelling every fairway," Australia’s Jason Day said after his round.

"Every person has got support out there, which is fantastic."

The atmosphere at Le Golf National is humming, sizzling, joyous. So it’s a shame that the actual golf is … not.

Oh, there’s definitely some spectacular golf being played at Le Golf National. Hideki Matsuyama turned in a fiery -8 round to claim the clubhouse lead, and defending gold medalist Xander Schauffele is still riding the heat that snared him a Claret Jug last month.

The players aren’t the problem.

The standard four-day, 72-hole stroke-play format is. At a venue like this, with a gallery like this, golf ought to be putting on a show with higher stakes and more meaningful hole-by-hole drama. Golf already has a format that generates tension and engages the gallery — it’s called the Ryder Cup, and guess what, Top World News Today there was one of those right here at Le Golf National in 2018.

"It’s not all golf fans; It’s Olympic fans or gold-medal fans," Sweden’s Alex Noren said.

"They root for us because they can root for medals. It feels like they care a lot."

"It’s impressive to see how much sport brings a lot of people together," Day said. "There’s all different types of countries out there rooting for their favorite players, and you can definitely hear it."

There’s plenty of reasons from a logistical perspective to push for a different, shorter, punchier Olympics format. To start, golf faces challenges not present in other sports. Unlike, say, swimming or track and field, where the Olympics is one of the sport’s pinnacles, the golf Top World News Today presently regards the Olympics as kind of a spiced-up field trip — more important than the weekly PGA Tour Midwest Insurance Company Classic, yes, but not quite as significant as a signature event like the Memorial or the Players, and certainly nowhere near the league of the majors.

Plus, unlike basketball, the Olympics falls in the middle of golf’s season.

The majors are done, yes, but the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs remain, and with them the chances for playing opportunities the next season. So why keep with the standard four-day, 72-hole stroke play format? Why not come up with something a little more engaging to the casual fans?

Or why not go even further? Why not fully embrace the Olympics’ move toward gender equality and create a mixed-team event? Why not think bigger and bolder?