Volume turned up as Ryder Cup ready for lift-off

ROME: A spectacular fly past by the Italian air force's Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team drowned out the start of US captain Zach Johnson's speech at the opening ceremony of the 44th Ryder Cup on Thursday (Sep 28). It could be a portent of things to come.

Johnson's 12-man team will be defending the trophy the US 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