‘A cool scene’ – but will Bethpage’s first tee intimidate Europe?

The first tee at the Ryder Cup has long been a focus of intense scrutiny.

For players, the nerves are tested as they hit their opening shots in front of thousands of partisan supporters.

The boisterous buzz makes it an essential part of the day for fans, who arrive in morning darkness to stake their spot, while latecomers, irked at missing out, slope off down the fairway.

The Bethpage Black offering this week is shaped by the topography of the course. It will accommodate 5,000 people, slightly more than in Rome two years ago, but certainly fewer than the 6,500 that fitted in the Paris behemoth in 2018.

And rather than the intimidatory three-sided horseshoe shape of two years ago, this vast stand “looks more London Stadium than Upton Park”, according to BBC Sport’s golf correspondent Iain Carter.

From down in the fairway, it resembles a giant draught excluder, skirting the back of the tee and adjacent 18th green.

The horseshoe element has been lost and, through that, has the advantage for the home team suffered?

“The way it’s set up, it’s a little bit further back than what we’ve had over the past few years,” Tommy Fleetwood told BBC Sport.

“But it’s still the first tee at a Ryder Cup and we’ll still come away from this week with stories of first tee nerves.

“It’s something that you’ve got to embrace. I think it’s a cool scene.”

In 2023 the first tee was a cauldron of noise and colour.

Thousands of fans crammed into stands that towered above the players, with music blaring and European fans welcoming each player on to the tee with their own unique song.

While the European players revelled in that racket, it seemed to serve up too much of a claustrophobic start to matches for the US team, who did not win the first hole in any of the opening 12 matches.

It does not feel like that level of claustrophobia will be part of this week, but the fans on the practice days have been good-naturedly engaging in the ‘phoney war’.

A chorus of pantomime boos rang out across Bethpage Black as Rory McIlroy strode on to the first tee for a practice round.

The stand was around one-quarter full, but the jeers seemed to drift aimlessly over Europe’s number one as he cheerily waved back, before heading off down the fairway, obligingly signing autographs as he went.

It was the European charm offensive in full swing.

But as Fleetwood, 34, pointed out: “No matter what you do, nothing prepares you for a Friday morning on the first tee of the Ryder Cup.”

Europe’s only rookie Rasmus Hojgaard is expecting his first tee experience to be “my most nervous moment” of the week.

American Bryson DeChambeau gave a glimpse of perhaps what might follow as he indulged the fans who wanted to see him reach the green 397 yards away, by smashing half a dozen tee shots.

There were accompanying shouts from the stands of “Rory can’t do that”.

Two-time US Open champion DeChambeau – the only member of the US team to play on the LIV Golf circuit – is the perfect showman, basking in the adulation, while demanding his followers further crank up the volume.

The European players have not gone as far as wearing sponge ‘Cheeseheads’ like they did at Whistling Straits four years ago.

Nevertheless, Luke Donald’s men have been on a charm offensive in New York.

On Wednesday, the 12 visiting players took time during their practice round to sign hundreds of autographs and pose for selfies on a largely convivial morning at Bethpage.

The theory, perhaps, is that ingratiating themselves to the locals during this week’s tune-ups might soften the vitriol which comes their way over the weekend.

No doubt Europe captain Donald is not that naïve.

McIlroy heard how quickly the crowd could turn when they booed him, playfully, for not signing any autographs as he was whisked to the 17th tee by organisers. A defiant ‘U-S-A, U-S-A’ chant followed.

“We’re not going to attack the Europeans today – let’s wait for Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Sean Mateiko, a Long Islander attending Wednesday’s practice day with his two kids, told BBC Sport.

“You respect the game – everyone was excited to see Rory. But once it comes down to the start of the tournament, he’s the enemy.”

Masters champion McIlroy was in the spotlight as the crowd – mainly children but also plenty of adults – battled for his attention on the walks between greens and tees.

During the walks to the 15th and 17th tee boxes, the pre-prepared European players pulled out blue sharpies from their back pockets and scrawled away.

Oversized golf balls and replica 18th green flags – bought from the shop for $36 (£26) – were the main items of memorabilia. One middle-aged American man wore a cream dinner jacket to be desecrated as a souvenir.

“We’re the visitors,” said Donald. “Again, we’re trying to just be respectful to the crowd and just do whatever we can to be our best selves and play our best golf.

“I’m very lucky as a captain. This isn’t a team I’ve had to really try to form, but I feel like we have a bunch of really solid guys with good values.

The tone from the European team in the build-up feels carefully cultivated: keen to show a strong sense of respect towards the American fans, along with the insistence a partisan atmosphere is what the Ryder Cup is all about.

It also appears designed not to fan the flames before the weekend.

A lot of pre-tournament discussion has centred around the threat of Bethpage being a tinderbox, with President Trump’s expected appearance on Friday potentially further sparking an already-partisan crowd.

For fathers like Mateiko and his buddy Ryan Hickey, Wednesday’s practice day and the weekend’s action are separate entities as entertainment activities.

“Right now on practice day, you’re hanging out watching golf and seeing the stars do their thing. Then, come Friday it is hardcore USA – it’s game time,” added Mateiko, who will return for the real action with his pals.

“Things have ramped up since Rory said he wanted to win on US soil. I think the heckling will be 1000%, but not over the line. It will be fun – and firm but fair.”

There is a caveat, though, from a interjecting Hickey.