Ryder Cup 2018: Thousands on first tee greet golf's Christmas morning

There wasn't even standing room as spectators clung to every spare bit of grass for the start of the 2018 tournament

By 6:58am, with the sky still a night blue and the full moon hanging in the sky, there was simply no more room.

The deafening cry of the megaphone confirmed it: “the first tee grandstand is now full.”

As the sun dared to rise over Guyancourt and Le Golf National, it illuminated an absurd spectacle. Thousands upon thousands of fans crammed in around the tiny tee box, a verdant drop in an ocean of fervour.

Standing room only? Not even. Spectators clung to every spare bit of grass, took advantage of every hillock on the first hole’s undulating flanks and then, having woken up in the hours of darkness, they waited for the sun to break the chill of a late-September morning and the Ryder Cup to begin.

The songs began as early as there were people to sing them. Most varied on the frankly predictable Europop theme but the Viking thunderclap also made an appearance. American fans tried gamely to out-sing but were heavily outnumbered. Few cared. This is Christmas morning in the golf world and the sherry was being passed around very early.

Who will end up tasting the champagne come Sunday night is an altogether different conversation, and one that will be settled on the greens some 500 yards to the right of the first tee box.

As for the first hole itself, while the booming atmosphere might tempt players to make a splash, that’s exactly what you need to avoid and it is not a start where you want to be overly aggressive. As with much of this course, water comes into play around 80 yards from the green as three players found to their cost on opening morning.

The general manager of Le Golf National, Paul Armitage, said this week that the correct shot on hole one is to aim for the left of the fairway rather than over the humps on the right, as the devil might tempt you. At such an ungodly hour, Lucifer occasionally got his way.

Tony Finau was the final of the 24 Ryder Cup competitors to book his ticket but the first to tee off in match one. He came within inches of the water as nerves took hold, with Justin Rose’s birdie allowing he and partner Jon Rahm to hand Europe the lead from the opening hole of the weekend. Rahmbo: First blood.

There wasn't a spare seat in the house on Friday morning (REUTERS)

“It’s the most incredible first tee I’ve ever seen for sure,” Rose had said pre-tournament. He beamed as he strode down the fairway. Thorbjorn Olesen didn’t, kicking off match two for Europe and becoming the first of many this weekend to fall afoul of Le Golf National’s expansive water hazards.

Jordan Spieth and Tyrell Hatton both hit perfect drives on the first in match three, with the former lipping out on an eagle shot from across the water but handing the USA their first lead of the 2018 Ryder Cup with a birdie.

Match four brought the crowds their superstar, Tiger Woods, who is about the only man used to having the paying public smeared on every available surface as he tees off. For Patrick Reed, it was something far more unusual: “When I first saw that on the first tee, I looked up and felt like I kept looking up and up and up,” said Reed. “There’s going to be so many people that are sitting in there. It’s going to be an unbelievable atmosphere.”

The atmosphere is already at fever pitch in Paris (REUTERS)

His tee shot was exquisite but his second found the bottom of the lake as Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood won the first hole thanks to the Italian’s birdie three.

And as slowly as the throngs had funnelled in under the cover of darkness, they rapidly disappeared into the golden morning. There were other holes to explore, matches to be won, history to be made.

Before long the first hole was virtually abandoned, bathed by the now-risen sun. The fourballs were on their way, the Ryder Cup had begun.