Oaklands Hills officials study Belfry

The pomp and pageantry of the Ryder Cup opening ceremonies swept away the visitors from Oakland Hills Country Club. But what really took their breath away Thursday was the breadth of the Belfry layout.

"We'll only have 20 percent of the land resources that they have here," said Jim Judge, Oakland Hills chairman of media operations. "They've got three courses from which to use and acres upon acres of potato farmland for vending, parking and other operations.

"As you well know, we've got neighbourhoods. I don't think they'll permit us to tear down their homes, but I'm sure some may leave town for that week to avoid the stampede."

The world is coming to Detroit in two years. The official opening of the 34th Ryder Cup matches means that Oakland Hills, host of the 2004 matches, is now on the clock. The 35th Cup will be at the Bloomfield Hills club in 2004.

"They've done an amazing job here," Judge said. "But what we've found really amazing is the lengths to which golf fans will travel to attend a Ryder Cup. It is truly a world event. And I think it's beginning to sink in with all of us now that it's coming to Detroit, and that's just tremendously exciting for all of us."

Everyone talks about the Super Bowl in Detroit in 2006 - and with good reason. Hyperbole and marketing have made it the world's biggest annual sporting event. Ford Field also has made the city a potential player for men's and women's basketball Final Fours, and there's speculation that Comerica Park will host a baseball All-Star Game. The city already is a finalist for the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

That means tourism. And that means money. Lots of it.

But don't ignore the economic impact of hosting the Ryder Cup. This biennial competition is bigger than you might think.

Gov. John Engler is scheduled to attend Saturday's second round. Larry Alexander, head of the Detroit Visitors and Convention Bureau, is part of a contingent at the Belfry. So are several Oakland Hills executives, including Bob Gigliotti, general chairman of the Oakland Hills Ryder Cup organizing committee, tournament director Andy Odenbach and Oakland Hills chief operating officer Rick Bayliss.

They have been at the Belfry since Sunday, soaking up the atmosphere so they will know what they're up against.

"You can be sure that we won't have a betting parlor on site," said Judge, referring to the two bookmaking facilities on the Belfry grounds.

Oakland Hills has hosted six U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships, but even that experience can't properly prepare the club for what awaits in two years. The Ryder Cup is a different animal in every aspect, from its match play to its varying categories of competition. They will play four-ball matches this morning and foursomes this afternoon.

Huh?

In four-ball, two-player teams from the United States and Europe compete against each other, so four balls are in play. The lowest score for each ball counts for the team score. In foursomes, each pairing plays alternate shots.

But the Europeans' improvement in the last 17 years - they are 4-3-1 - has fueled the passions of fans. Some at the opening ceremonies waved Spanish and German flags when those national anthems were played. And the underlying sentiment upon the Europeans is that the Americans are too spoiled from the ungodly riches of the PGA Tour to care all that much about a tournament where the only reward is national pride.

This will be a world sporting event unlike anything we've seen in Detroit. We had a small part in the World Cup soccer tournament eight years ago, but there is an Olympic-like feel to the Ryder Cup.

There's the parade of participants uniformly attired, the raising of the national flags and the declaration from the head of the Belfry Ryder Cup organizing committee that "the competition was open."

The only flame lit Thursday came from irritated fans who missed Tiger Woods' practice round because he played early in the morning in relative solitude, his standard routine.

"I told them to prepare like a major championship," U.S. captain Curtis Strange said. "They prepared today like they would for a big tournament. But this is not an exhibition, this is a hell of a competition that we take great pride in winning and playing well and representing our country.

"I'm sorry if somebody didn't get to see Tiger play. But they'll get to see him play the next three days - if he plays."

Yeah, right . . . if he plays.

Woods was the biggest star on a stage of stars Thursday, drawing the loudest ovation upon his introduction. Tiger remains the biggest draw in sports, a stature that should grow even further in two years when golf's biggest stampede comes through Detroit.