Ryder Cup hit by early disruption as thunderstorms in New York prompt organizers to rip up schedule
The Ryder Cup opening ceremony has been brought forward 24 hours as thunderstorms threaten the start of this week’s battle between USA and Europe.
Keegan Bradley’s Americans are due take on the visitors – led by Luke Donald – over three days at Bethpage Black.
Both sets of players and their partners traditionally come together for a glitzy event on the afternoon before Friday’s opening matches.
But the PGA of America revealed on Tuesday that ‘due to the forecast of inclement weather’ on Thursday afternoon, the curtain-raiser would be moved to Wednesday at 4pm ET.
Wind, rain and thunderstorms are all due to hit this corner of Long Island on Thursday.
The action at Bethpage Black is slated to kick off on Friday morning, with more rain and a possible thunderstorm due later in the day.
The Ryder Cup opening ceremony has been brought forward 24 hours due to thunderstorms
Wind, rain and thunderstorms are all forecast to hit Bethpage Black on Thursday
Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll arrive for the opening ceremony ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup
Organizers confirmed that Bradley and Donald will still announce their pairings for the opening matches at 4pm on Thursday.
Meanwhile, it was announced that ‘Ryder Cup+ ticket holders for Thursday, will now be admitted both Wednesday and Thursday.’
There are already fears of chaos on Friday morning, with president Donald Trump due to be at Bethpage Black to support Scottie Scheffler and Co.
Police chiefs have also warned of an ‘increased’ risk of someone ‘targeting’ the Ryder Cup to ‘make a statement’ in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The conservative political activist, an ally and friend of the president, was shot during an event in Utah earlier this month.
Two weeks on, Trump’s visit to Bethpage has only added another layer of complication to an already vast security operation which is ‘on par’ with a Super Bowl and includes drones and bomb-disposal dogs as well as chemical, biological and radiological units.
The man leading Ryder Cup security admitted they are preparing for the worst. ‘If anything, the likelihood of somebody trying to use an event like this to make a statement is only increased,’ Major Stephen Udice told the BBC.
