US team whip up Ryder Cup crowd as atmosphere builds on eve of competition

United States captain Keegan Bradley and team member Bryson DeChambeau whipped up the crowd as the atmosphere intensified ahead of the Ryder Cup on Thursday.

Much has been made of the boisterous, partisan reception the European team are likely to be given by the American fans during this week’s match at Bethpage Black near New York.

They were given plenty of encouragement to turn up the volume as Bradley ran down the 18th fairway with a large stars and stripes flag after his team’s final practice session.

DeChambeau, expected to be one of the hosts’ key players in the coming days, then stood in front of the grandstand and led loud chants of ‘USA, USA’.

It was a small taste of what the players could expect on the first tee when play gets under way with the opening foursomes session on Friday.

It came at the end of a practice session in which players from both teams had needed to battle heavy rain.

A downpour early in the day had briefly left some parts of the course waterlogged.

The weather had, however, been anticipated earlier in the week, with the opening ceremony, originally scheduled for Thursday, having taken place on Wednesday.

The forecast for Friday, when United States President Donald Trump is due to visit, is dry, with temperatures up to 25C.