MONTREAL—The policemen were there to keep peace. On Friday, not so much, their oath to the job supplanted by a love of country and sport. Instead of containing the multitude of fans that had broken under and past the 14th green ropeline, those officers were trading high-fives and raising their fists as chants of “I-N-T! I-N-T!” showered down on Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith after the duo dispatched of Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala. It was only the realization that three matches remained and would be coming through that the overspilled gallery was pushed back, yet law enforcement continued to hoot and holler along with the crowd, and with good reason. There’s no reason to silence what this event has been desperately wanting to hear.

After 30 years of getting bullied, and a day after arguably their lowest point as a team, the Internationals woke up from their slumber to stun their American counterparts with a 5-0 sweep, a performance spurred by an energized crowd that turned this sleepy exhibition into a legitimate competition.

“I would say the crowd was in it from the get-go for us,” Corey Conners said of the crowd. “We were definitely aware of some of the big cheers ahead of us knowing that some of the guys were winning holes. Certainly for me, it inspired me to want to get some of those cheers for us. The atmosphere was great, and cheering on the other guys — being at home feels pretty special and getting all the support we got out there on the golf course and the whole team got was amazing.”

“Corey mentioned that the first tee felt a lot different today than it did yesterday,” added Mackenzie Hughes. “I said after my match, it felt like the crowd really pulled us through those matches. We need more of that the rest of the week.”

Somewhat lost in the Americans’ Thursday romp was the issue of the crowds, or should we say lack thereof. There’s no need to relitigate that the Presidents Cup continues to fight for relevance three decades into its existence. Not that it was in danger of being canceled; the event generates too much revenue for the tour for that to be an option. However the past three years of strife in professional golf has underlined that success is not measured by dollar signs but interest and passion and care. By those barometers the verdict on the Presidents Cup has been unequivocal, and for those who’d like to appeal, look no further than International star Jason Day, who admitted earlier this week he really never truly gave a damn about the event.

Which is what made Thursday’s showing in Montreal disheartening. The scenes and sounds surrounding the first tee at Ryder Cups cannot be described, only experienced. Those scenes and sounds at Royal Montreal, however, were muted during the opening session, with the grandstands half-empty after the first match went off. That proved not to be an aberration. Chalk it up to it being a Thursday and folks couldn’t get off work. The traffic logistics aren’t as bad as being publicized but in that same vein it’s not easy to get here, either. That the Internationals didn’t give those that were here much to cheer about didn’t help. The truth is, nothing about the vibe on property emitted a sense that anything of consequence was taking place, compelling International sparkplug Tom Kim to call out the crowd. “I think it was a little too quiet today being on home soil,” Kim said. “I don’t think the fans were really — I wish they would have helped us out a bit more, especially being in Canada. I know how much they love golf.”

But Friday? Friday was hoppin’, brother.

Despite sitting the session out, Kim was on the first tee early, tossing hats and towels and doing everything he could to get the gallery revved up. The grandstand wasn’t just filled but the hole was lined two-deep from the fairway to green, a view that greeted the players in almost every group on every hole all day long. They were singing songs and hollering support and enjoying libations and generally having a blast, which is exactly what you want from spectators at a big-time sporting event. The best compliment we can give the Canadians is that they sounded a lot like Europeans.

It was especially raucous around the maple-leaf group of Hughes and Conners. They were serenaded with “O Canada” too many times to count, and their lights-out display kept the volume turned up to 10 their entire trek around Royal Montreal. Even in the occasional respites of silence, the dead air would be pierced with a shout of “We love you!” and “Go get ‘em boys!” that reverbated around the rest of the course.

Chris Condon

It helped the Internationals played some darn good golf, although the case can be made the crowds beget their performance. That’s not us extrapolating from the cheap seats; to a man the Internationals said the support made a hell of a difference.

“The crowd, I think, plays a huge role,” Kim said, beaming like a proud parent Friday evening. “I think the reason why we were able to play so good today, other than these guys going out and performing, was our fans backed us up. I think that gives you momentum, that gives you energy. Just they played a huge factor in our win today.”“I think we all came out here today playing for our own pride really, and I think that started it off the right way, and the crowd carried us through the day, which was incredible,” said Adam Scott. “Hearing those cheers, knowing it was for our team on other holes across the golf course, that’s got to be motivation for us for the rest of the week.”“I thought maybe half of Montreal took the day off of work,” exclaimed captain Mike Weir. “The crowds were that big out there and really energized from the get-go, from the first hole. It was fantastic. I certainly hope it’s just as loud this weekend. I believe it will be. We’re really hoping they come out loud and strong like they did today.”

The Americans noticed, too, with Jim Furk noting the turnout and Tony Finau calling the difference “night and day.” “There were a lot more people, which just brought energy to the event today compared to yesterday,” Finau continued. “From an environment standpoint, there’s no question that there was more energy on the international side, and the Canadian fans definitely showed up today.”Now, not all noise is positive. More so than any Presidents Cup in recent memory, the crowds were at times nasty. Max Homa accidentally knocked out a fan with his opening drive, and the fans did not exactly treat the moment with the sensitivity it deserved. There were a lot of original reminders towards Scottie Scheffler about his run-in with Louisville’s finest. A few of the wives and girlfriends had things uttered in their direction that would make a hockey player blush. Conversely, that’s not the worst of things. Not that we are ever condoning saying such nonsense to athletes … but one of the biggest knocks on the Presidents Cup has been the lack of animus involved. There’s nothing wrong with sports hate; find us a game or rivalry that matters without it. So for things to get a little spicy is ultimately a positive development. It was just one session, and tomorrow will validate if today was a sign of what’s to come or merely the byproduct of the best day in International club history. The Internationals remain an underdog. But, for one day at least, the Presidents Cup didn’t need to assert it mattered, letting others do the talking.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com