PARIS — Any lingering concerns about why the Ryder Cup has come to France, a country with precious little golfing tradition, were put to bed amid memorable scenes on a remarkable first day of competition at Le Golf National on Friday.
Each edition of the biennial event gets bigger, louder and more boisterous and this year’s version maintained that tradition on a day of noise, colour, consternation and, ultimately, celebration.
All week the players had talked in anticipation about the experience of the first tee and the 7,000-capacity stand surrounding it, the biggest in the history of the event, was full long before American rookie Tony Finau fired the first shot down the first fairway.
Constant chanting, orchestrated by the yellow and blue-clad “Guardians of the Ryder Cup” group, welcomed the players, who were then invited to “start the clap” as the stand reverberated to the thunderclap-style applause popularised by Icelandic soccer fans during the 2016 European championship.
“That first tee shot was not like anything I’ve been involved in before, it was like an NFL game back in the States,” Finau said. “And I have to hit a tee shot — I have to make a golf swing with all that type of adrenaline.
“It was incredible. Even though the crowd is European and we’re on European soil, just to be in that atmosphere, it’s electric. It’s so hard to explain, just being there, knowing that all eyes are on you, it’s a cool thing. I really enjoyed it.”
Around a quarter of a million tickets have been sold for the week — over 40 percent to French nationals — with around 70,000 following the action on Friday.
With only four holes ever in play at one time, it made for huge crowds following the action, though others camped out at some of the best viewing holes, many surrounded by huge grassy banks that created natural amphitheaters and a perfect viewing experience on a warm but windy day.
With 18 huge TV screens dotted around the course, fans were also able to follow the action and join in the roars from all corners.
After a bright start by Europe, the home supporters were left somewhat subdued by lunchtime as the United States forged a 3-1 lead following the morning fourballs — a result that the many Americans on the course celebrated loudly and proudly.
However, the decibel level soon started rising as the Europeans stormed out of the blocks for the afternoon foursomes, delivering a birdie blitz that had cheers and roars reverberating around the course.
With the likes of Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia fist-pumping and breast-beating with every putt sunk, the afternoon turned into a frenzy of noise as Europe completed an historic 4-0 demolition job to take a 5-3 overall lead.
“We got those crowds behind us, we got them going,” said delighted European captain Thomas Bjorn. — Reuters

ANKARA — Turkish newspapers slammed UEFA’s choice of Germany to host the Euro 2024 soccer tournament, saying the country’s fourth failed bid was a stab in the back by Europe’s soccer bosses.
UEFA’s executive committee voted 12-4 in favour of Germany hosting the competition on Thursday, hours after President Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Berlin on a visit aimed at improving strained ties. Turkey was the only other bidder.
At a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday, Erdogan left a question about the decision unanswered, but his Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Kasapoglu said that the decision was “saddening for UEFA and the Euro 2024.”
Turkey’s newspapers were not as diplomatic, accusing UEFA of siding with racism in reference to Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil’s resignation from the national team. Ozil said he had faced racism over his Turkish background — a charge denied by the football association.
“It’s not fair, UEFA supported racism,” said pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak.
Several newspapers also accused UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin of swaying the vote in favour of Germany. “We were shot in the back,” said another pro-government newspaper, Vatan.
It said Yildirim Demiroren, an ally of Erdogan who is also the chairman of Turkey’s Football Federation (TFF) and the Demiroren media group, lashed out at Ceferin after the decision.
“(He) stabbed us in the back,” said Milliyet, owned by Demiroren’s group. “The number one actor responsible for us losing at the table is Ceferin,” it said.
The Hurriyet daily, also owned by Demiroren’s group, said Ceferin had swayed support which stood at 9-5 in Turkey’s favour on the eve of the vote by calling delegates to convince them to vote for Germany. “We lost it in one night,” it said.
A UEFA report ahead of the decision had said that while there were several positive aspects to Turkey’s bid, it also carried risks in areas such as human rights — which was featured for the first time as a one of the bid criteria.
Turkey, which also failed with attempts to host the event in 2008, 2012, and 2016, still has a bid in to host the 2026 Winter Olympics in its northeastern province of Erzurum, after losing its bid to host the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo. — Reuters

LISBON — Lawyers for Cristiano Ronaldo said on Friday they would sue German magazine Der Spiegel after it published “blatantly illegal” accusations by an American woman who alleges she was raped by the Portuguese soccer star in 2009.
Ronaldo’s lawyer Christian Schertz said in a statement the report was “an inadmissible reporting of suspicions in the area of privacy,” and that he would seek legal redress for his client from the magazine.
The statement was sent to Reuters by Ronaldo’s agent Gestifute in response to a request for comment on the Der Spiegel story. Gestifute did not answer any specific questions about the content of the Der Spiegel report, which Reuters was unable to independently verify.
Ronaldo is one of the biggest names in world sport. He has been named player of the year five times and transferred to Juventus from Real Madrid this summer for €100 million. The Italian club declined to comment on the Der Spiegel report.
The magazine said the rape allegedly took place in June 2009 in a hotel room in Las Vegas, according to Leslie Mark Stovall, lawyer for the alleged victim, Kathryn Mayorga.
Ronaldo and Mayorga then reached an out-of-court agreement, according to Stovall as reported in the magazine.
It said, according to Stovall, that she had pledged never to speak of the accusation again and Ronaldo paid her $375,000.
“Kathryn was sexually assaulted in June 2009 by an individual named Cristiano Ronaldo,” Mayorga’s lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall, said in a video published online by Der Spiegel.
Reuters was not able to independently verify Mayorga’s allegations.
Stovall did not immediately respond to email requests from Reuters for comment on the report and Mayorga was not available for comment in telephone calls to her home.
Her lawyer told Der Spiegel, however, that he had filed a civil complaint seeking to declare the non-disclosure agreement void.
“The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Cristiano Ronaldo responsible within a civil court of law for the injuries he has caused Kathryn Mayorga and the consequences of those injuries,” Stovall told Der Spiegel.
Schertz said he would seek compensation from Der Spiegel for “moral damages in an amount corresponding to the gravity of the infringement, which is probably one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years.”
The magazine’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Alfred Weinzierl, told Reuters that Der Spiegel had repeatedly written to Ronaldo’s management and lawyers about the allegations before publishing its report.
“We sent written questions, to which there were no answers. Nobody sued us in connection with earlier Ronaldo reports,” he said in an email.
Mayorga told Der Spiegel she no longer felt bound by the non-disclosure agreement as she suffers from the consequences of the night nine years ago.
“I’ve had like these serious breakdowns,” she told the magazine. “And again, blaming of the rape. And I blame him, and I blame myself for signing that thing.” — Reuters

SINGAPORE — Ringstar Boxing, Asia’s fastest growing sports media property, just staged its biggest boxing match to date, with ‘Roar of Singapore V — The Kings of Lion City,’ which took place at Marina Bay Sands last Saturday, Sept. 29 and was seen all over the world via its broadcast partners.
Filipino IBO world champion Michael “Gloves on Fire” Dasmarinas’ non-title bout vs. Ghana’s Manyo “Black Flash” Plange, ended in a draw, with the scorecards showing these numbers — 93-97, 95-95, and 96-94.
Boxing analyst Mike Ochosa shared his thoughts on the match, and says, “Plange was really ready for Michael Dasmariñas.
Whatever scouting reports we saw about him, is true. Makamay, masipag,…he punched a lot, so perhaps from the judges’ point of view, it looked like he was more aggressive, and he was the busier fighter. However, if you look at the tapes, Michael was connecting the power shots, but not throwing a lot. While Plange was not connecting, but throwing a lot.”
While Muhamad “The Chosen Wan” Ridhwan, faced his first defeat in his entire professional career, (11-1); with the IBO World Super Bantamweight title going to Namibian boxer Paulus “The Rock” Ambunda, at the end of the evening. Ambunda won by split decision, with the judges scorecard showing — 115-113, 116-111, 112-115.
But Ridhwan assured his fans that he will be back, “I know Paulus is a fighter, I respect him…But I will come back. I always come back.”
While Ringstar Founder & CEO Scott Farrell says, “Muhamad Ridwan showed that he’s ready, he may not have won the decision, but he’s ready and he will be back. One day he will be world champion, mark my words.”
Sponsors and Partners of ‘Roar of Singapore V — The Kings of Lion City’ include NTUC FairPrice, Marina Bay Sands, Nutrifirst, Cobra Energy Drink, and Roomaif.

BERLIN — Hertha Berlin stunned leaders Bayern Munich 2-0 on Friday for their first win over them in nine years that snapped the champions’ unbeaten run this season and moved the Berliners joint top in the Bundesliga.
Hertha captain Vedad Ibisevic sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way to score with a 23^rd minute penalty after Jerome Boateng had brought down Salomon Kalou.
Slovak forward Ondrej Duda continued his sensational form with his fifth goal of the season, firing in on the stroke of halftime to confirm Hertha’s fine start that has left them in second place on 13 points, level on points with Bayern.
The champions, with injured Leon Goretzka joining a growing list of absentees that already includes Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso among others, had their share of chances as they dominated after the break.
With 65% possession, 14 corners compared to Hertha’s one and 24-6 shots on goal, Bayern will be asking themselves how they failed to get at least a point from the game.
James Rodriguez came close for the visitors in the second half but even the introduction of a third striker with Sandro Wagner in the 72nd minute could not prevent their first defeat of the season, three days after stumbling to a 1-1 draw against Augsburg.
Borussia Dortmund, third on 11 points, are in action against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, while Schalke 04, last season’s runners-up who have lost all five league games so far, host Mainz 05. — Reuters