RIO DE JANEIRO -- If golf's leaders want to frame a moment that captures the essence of Olympic golf, they need to find every photo and gather up all the video available of Adilson da Silva walking off the 18th green Sunday when he had concluded the tournament.
Fans in the grandstand cheered him as he waved to them with tears in his eyes. Several minutes later, he was still emotional talking about the experience of playing in the Olympics in his home country of Brazil.
"It's such a big thing for me, everything about it was big,'' said da Silva, who closed with a 2-under-par 69 on Sunday. "I wasn't expecting to hit the first tee shot. It was so, so special. I can't say I wasn't nervous. I was thinking about it for two days before. It was very exciting, very special.''
Da Silva, 44, was a caddie at a 9-hole course in southern Brazil and turned pro as a teenager. He left his homeland to pursue a career, playing mostly in South Africa. He now competes on the Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour and occasionally in Europe. He hopes to get a spot in the Omega European Masters in Switzerland next month.
For the past two years, da Silva traveled extensively to try to earn world ranking points to assure his participation in the Games in Brazil. The travel was exhausting, he said, and put his family in a bind. But he said it was worth it, calling the experience one of the best of his career.
"This has been incredible,'' he said. "Of all the events I've played, I've never seen so many people. For me, I've played in a couple of British Opens, and this is like that for me.''
Knowing how few people play golf in Brazil, da Silva said he hopes the Olympics give the game a boost.
"It's a big step for us,'' da Silva said. "To see so many people out here. Hopefully they get interested in golf. A lot of kids, nice to see. You need to start young. I started a little too late. We really need to get it going. And I think it's good for us.''
Da Silva finished at 285, 1 over par and tied for 39th.