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After all the talk of a Bethpage “bearpit” in the build-up to this week’s Ryder Cup, Monday’s opening exchanges between the captains in New York could not have been more cuddly.
While the home fans are expected to bring a spikiness to Bethpage, Europe skipper Luke Donald and his US counterpart Keegan Bradley will deliver the bonhomie.
They live four miles apart in Florida, are members of Jack Nicklaus’ Bear’s Club, and are founding partners in a local restaurant.
Donald talked about their “strong friendship” and a “deep, mutual respect” for each other in his opening remarks.
“Keegan is someone that I’ve rooted for,” said Donald. “If he did well in a tournament, won a tournament, I would text him. We sometimes play practice rounds together, we’ve had dinners together.”
In return, Bradley gushed: “There are not many people I like more in the golf world than Luke Donald.
“I feel lucky to have Luke on the opposite side because we send each other texts, we joke around. I love hanging out and having a drink with Luke Donald.”
Their thoughts echoed a surreal calm at Bethpage’s famed Black Course, with spectators not allowed on to the property until Tuesday.
It is then that Europe’s players will get a first taste of the New York support, with Donald’s dozen set to play all 18 holes of this hilly course on Long Island, about 40 miles south-east of Manhattan.
And they could be welcomed by up to 8,000 fans in the stand that looms over the first tee and the adjacent 18th green. It is a Ryder Cup record size, but will it be as intimidating as the cauldron created by the 5,000-seat stand that horseshoed the first tee at Rome in 2023?
Donald is taking no chances and has given his players virtual reality headsets which Rory McIlroy explained can be programmed to replicate the “sights and sounds” the away team are expecting.
Speaking this month, he said: “You can get them to say whatever you want them to say. You can go as close to the bone as you like.”
BBC News
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