Games debutants Lee, tied for 22nd, and fellow Aussie Jason Day, joint-ninth, both admitted to disappointment at missing out on the medals, but both were left blown away by the fantastic climax which felt like Olympic golf’s coming-of-age Sunday as Scottie Scheffler delivered an epic round of 62 to snatch the gold.

“It’s been special, representing my country. There’s been a little bit of pressure and obviously, the first day I felt devastated, I felt like I let the country down,” said Lee, who was crestfallen to shoot a five-over 76 for starters back on Thursday.

“But I made sure I bounced back, and I thought I did a pretty good job the next three days (with rounds of 65, 68 and 68).”

It helped that he had his biggest yellow-shirted supporter, two-time major winner Minjee Lee, following him around for a few holes as she took a break for her own practice at the course before the women’s tournament begins on Wednesday.

“It’s special that my sister followed me around. I mean, I think I support her more than she supports me, so it’s quite great to see her doing that!” said Lee.

The whole experience has given him a taste for the Olympics. “I’m really excited for the next one, and I’ll try my best to make it,” added the 26-year-old.

Day was a little disappointed with his finish, after a sizzling start with two birdies in the first three holes but his decent final-round 68 was not enough as the birdies were flying around liberally elsewhere.

“It was kind of a weird scenario. I drove it pretty poorly the first three days, hit iron shots really nice, and it was the reverse today and I had no idea where the ball was going. So it was nice to keep my round going with my short game and my putting,” said the Queenslander.

“I had a top-10 finish with not quite having the stuff that you needed. There’s some guys that are playing some phenomenal golf right now. I’ve got to do a lot of work to get to that level.

“But it was very impressive week. It’s amazing what sport can do to bring people together.

“This is a week that we’re not playing for money, we’re playing for a medal, playing for your country and you’re wearing the colours on your chest.

“It’s brought out old feelings that I thought I didn’t have, but I still have deep down, on why we play golf and why we love it so much.

“It was impressive to see all the different countries out there. I thoroughly enjoyed the week, and I’m hoping that I get to play in four years.”