Already bringing intense pressure from first shot to last, the Ryder Cup is taking greater care to make the opening tee area an intense spectacle for golf’s elite players.
A tunnel this week at Gleneagles will bring players to a first-tee crucible with 3,000 spectators and a lone path to launch their trek along the Scottish countryside.
“The first tee is particularly strong,” Europe captain Paul McGinley said. “Just the whole amphitheatre and the way they put the stands up and the tunnel walking through first, it’s going to be great.
“A little bit like gladiators, walking up the tunnel. It should be a dynamic atmosphere.”
Cheering crowds are ready to add to the unique team excitement of the 40th edition of the US-Europe rivalry.
“Standing on the first tee and having all the hype so early in the day, it really sort of gets you going,” Europe’s Lee Westwood said.
“It’s getting more and more like a cauldron-type atmosphere, an ampitheatre to get your round off. Nothing prepares you really for the Ryder Cup and getting on that first tee and the atmosphere.”
There are also photos and words of the late Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros, ensuring all are mindful of the Ryder Cup heritage and legacy.
“Seve lives with us,” Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn said. “He lives with the Ryder Cup more than anything but he lives with us as a team. You couldn’t have a man who stood for more of what European golf is all about.”
Westwood looks forward to creative songs supporting Europe.
“They have got good scriptwriters,” Westwood said. “I want to be in the pub the night before when they are making them all up.”
It figures to make the first-tee moment intense for Ryder Cup newcomers.
“I would imagine for the rookies it’s going to be a bit of a shock,” Westwood said. “It’s a bit of an intimidating atmosphere but nothing they can’t handle.”
Welshman Jamie Donaldson is counting on first-tee form to hold.
“After first tee nerves, you’re not too bad,” he said. “As nervous as I’ve been on a golf course on the first tee, I’ve hit a really good golf shot so I’m hoping that’s very much the same this week.”
“I really enjoy the crowd and people, all the expectation and the attention,” said French rookie Victor Dubuisson. “I think the least we can do is to give them back what they do for us.”
– McDowell’s bizarre start –
Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, set for his fourth Cup appearance, recalled his 2012 start at Medinah as “a very bizarre experience” with fans in a frenzy.
“I felt very calm and confident and ready to take that on as I went to the first tee and the noise was amazing and everyone’s excitement levels had peaked,” he said.
“I remember standing over the tee shot thinking, ‘This is just the most bizarre feeling I’ve ever had in my life,’ and I didn’t put a very good swing on it, like my head was genuinely kind of elsewhere just kind of taking in how surreal the moment and the environment was.
“I’m a guy that certainly embraces the high-pressure scenarios. The great thing about the Ryder Cup is it’s Sunday afternoon pressure from the first tee shot on Friday morning and there’s nothing quite like that in golf.”