By Martyn Herman
ROME (Reuters) – A spectacular fly past by the Italian air force’s Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team drowned out the start of U.S. captain Zach Johnson’s speech at the opening ceremony of the 44th Ryder Cup on Thursday. It could be a portent of things to come.
Johnson’s 12-man team will be defending the trophy the U.S won back with a crushing victory at Whistling Straits in 2021 but will have to block out raucous home support at the Marco Simone Country Club, east of Rome.
Around 150,000 fans will descend on the spectacular course over the next three days — the majority of them roaring on Europe in what their captain Luke Donald hopes will be “the loudest Ryder Cup” ever.
Fans of both teams were in good voice on a warm and sultry Thursday evening as the final preparations were completed for Italy’s first staging of the biennial team event.
The par-71 course, completely re-modelled after Italy was chosen as host, looked magnificent in the late summer sunshine while queues snaked towards giant merchandise stores, with fans emerging laden with expensive souvenirs.
At the ceremony in the fan zone, cheers erupted as Europe’s players were introduced by former world number one and four-time Ryder Cup player Donald — the loudest reserved for England’s Tommy Fleetwood and talisman Rory McIlroy.
The lure of the Eternal City and the magic of the Ryder Cup means there will be plenty of stars and stripes mixed in with the yellow and blue of Europe over the next three days, with hundreds having made the trip across the pond.
Johnson’s team will be seeking to end a 30-year wait for an American win on European soil and with seven major champions in their dozen, they should have a decent shot.
One of them, Brooks Koepka, who claimed his fifth major by winning this year’s PGA Championship, can expect plenty of heat coming his way though, judging by the boos that rang out as he was introduced to the crowds.
Koepka is the only player on either side to have joined LIV Golf — the controversial Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway tour that rocked the sport to its core over the past 18 months.
“I did not hear anything. I know Brooks well enough to know that he’s very secure in himself, and I know that his 11 team mates are very secure in him,” Johnson said later.
After the formalities — including the introduction players’ wives, a rendition of the Italian anthem by opera singer Carly Paoli and a rather under-whelming appearance by pop star Tom Grennan — the stage is set for the serious business.
“You are the heartbeat of this event, you are our 13th man, let’s make this the loudest Ryder Cup ever,” Donald, who began his speech in Italian, said as he signed off.
Action begins at 0535GMT on Friday with the foursomes rather than the fourballs — the first time Europe have opted for that order since 1997 with Donald believing it gives his team the best opportunity to get their noses in front.
The opening game features Spain’s Jon Rahm and England’s Tyrrell Hatton against world number one Scottie Scheffler and rookie Sam Burns, followed by Scandinavian duo Viktor Hovland and newcomer Ludvig Aberg versus Open winner Brian Harman and world number seven Max Homa, both also rookies.
And if the decibel level needs any raising on opening morning, the pairing of McIlroy and Fleetwood against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay in match four should ensure the action is heard all the way over in St Peter’s Square.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
