Traffic, weather cause headaches but fans happy
STRAFFAN, Ireland, Sep 21 (Reuters) It is a sign of the logistical nightmare facing Ryder Cup organisers this week that even the European team's arrival at the K Club was delayed after they were stuck in traffic.
US captain Tom Lehman was forced to start the opening press conference at the venue in Straffan, county Kildare, without opposite number Ian Woosnam on Monday after Woosnam's team got snarled in a motorway jam.
''It was very busy coming over the bridge,'' Woosnam deadpanned.
Organisers need to get 40,000 spectators a day into the area around rural Straffan -- where narrow lanes wind through a countryside of green hedgerows and rolling fields -- process them through airport-style security checks and then bus them on to the venue.
Though the weather was clear for the first practice day on Tuesday, much of this has so far been done in wind and rain.
Organisers were forced to move completely one of the park and ride venues on Thursday after downpours the previous day, adding 30 minutes to a 45 minute bus journey to the club -- not including the time taken to process visitors or get to the park and ride itself.
But most spectators are just happy to be here -- after high winds and rain closed the course for more than three hours yesterday.
REUTERS DH BD1717