K Club set for electric start after opener creates a storm

FOR a game normally played with the silence of a library, the Ryder Cup yesterday went loud.

Loud music, loud colours, thundering drums, blasting applause, tree-shaking cheers. The opening ceremony was an occasion to let go, laugh, dance, roar and be silly before the very serious business of golfing gets under way.

The 90-minute spectacle delighted the thousands of spectators gathered in the open air, surrounded by rolling greens and beech trees that did just what the tourism gurus said it would — make Ireland look gorgeous.