Ryder Cup Plans for Full Fan Experience at Whistling Straits: 'Ready to Have a Party'

Rob Goldberg @@TheRobGoldbergFeatured Columnist IVMay 18, 2021

FILE - This Sept. 26, 2016, file photo shows a flag blowing in the wind before the Ryder Cup golf tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. The Ryder Cup was postponed until 2021 in Wisconsin because of the COVID-19 pandemic that raised too much uncertainty whether the loudest event in golf could be played before spectators. The announcement Wednesday, July 8, 2020, was inevitable and had been in the works for weeks as the PGA of America, the European Tour and the PGA Tour tried to adjust with so many moving parts.(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File

After initially being postponed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming Ryder Cup is expected to have the same fan experience we've come to expect from this event.

PGA CEO Seth Waugh provided the latest update Tuesday, via Bob Harig of ESPN:

"We have every hope and every desire and we're working very hard to make it an absolute full fan experience. We're working obviously with the state and local governments to have all those conversations. It'll be fluid. But our plan is to have a Ryder Cup in a way that it's the greatest Ryder Cup in history. I think the world, as we've seen, is ready to have a party.''

The biennial competition pits the top golfers in the United States against the best in Europe over a three-day event. While most of the sport's events feature reserved crowds, Ryder Cup fans tend to be more animated in cheering on their side.

Per Harig, there is often 30,000-40,000 fans per day in attendance at the Ryder Cup.

Many PGA events have had limited attendance to maintain social distancing, but Waugh is hoping for full capacity at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin from Sept. 27-29.