There are silver medals, and then there are silver linings.

For Spain’s Jon Rahm, he was gutted, having just suffered a stunning back-nine collapse that saw him plummet from leader by four shots to two off the Olympic podium. He hadn’t felt like this for as long as he could remember; he didn’t just let himself down but his country, too, he felt.

“It's a lot more painful than I would like it to be,” Rahm said. “I've gotten the question, where this tournament would rank in my opinion or what I would think it would feel like to win, and I think by losing today, I'm getting a much deeper appreciation of what this tournament means to me than if I had won any medal, right. I'm getting a taste of how much it really mattered.”

And that was Rahm’s silver lining.

Rory McIlroy, representing Ireland this week, not only shared fifth with his fellow European Ryder Cup star but also the added perspective. Sure, McIlroy rinsed a wedge shot to ruin a five-birdie run to start his final nine and end any hope of gold, but the scene afterward was far different than two months ago at Pinehurst, where a seething McIlroy peeled out of the parking lot having squandered yet another chance at adding a fifth major title.

This Olympics — McIlroy’s second Games and the first without some sort of hinderance since golf’s return in 2016 (Zika and indifference in Rio; COVID and no fans in Tokyo) — was one of best individual competitions he’d been part of.

“I still think that the Ryder Cup is the best tournament that we have in our game, pure competition, and I think this has the potential to be right up there with it,” McIlroy said. “I think with how much of a s---show the game of golf is right now, and you think about the two tournaments that might be the purest form of competition in our sport, we don't play for money in it.”

McIlroy would add later: “Can’t wait for another shot in L.A.”

Unlike Rahm and McIlroy, South Korea’s Tom Kim was in his formative years, just 9 years old, when golf was approved to make its Olympic comeback after what would be a 102-year hiatus. To say representing his country in Paris was a goal of Kim’s would be an understatement. Kim said he put a ton of pressure on himself to not only qualify but also prepare for his Olympics debut.

After doubling the last to finish solo eighth, Kim shared a moment with his playing competitor, eventual gold medalist and friend Scottie Scheffler. Kim wouldn’t reveal what Scheffler told him, but the effects were evident as Kim lost it during his post-round interview.

“Never been really emotional after a round,” Kim told reporters. “I think these emotions are surprising, but I think it's just all the hard work I've done this year to put myself in this position, those things are coming out. Just the things Scottie said to me after the round really kind of came out, and I'm just trying to hold it together.”

Kim, of course, was also playing for a medal and subsequent exemption from his mandatory national military service.

“Not at all,” Kim replied when asked if that weighed on him.

He knows that at 22 years old, he’ll likely have several more opportunities to win an Olympic medal.

And if this week taught him — and his fellow competitors — anything, it’s that this tournament matters a heckuva lot.