European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has called for the home crowd to cheer his team to glory at Gleneagles.
The biennial event gets underway next week and will see the home side looking to claim their third straight win in the competition after successive glories at Celtic Manor and Medinah.
Over the last few years the tournament has become known for its boisterous atmosphere with both sets of fans often looking to give their team the upper hand by cheering them on from behind the ropes.
Europe are the current 1.52 favourites to win the tournament, with the USA at 2.58, and will be hoping the passionate Scottish crowd will be able to give them an advantage.
McGinley, who played in three victorious Ryder Cup campaigns as a player, including holing the winning putt in 2002 at the Belfry, admits he has always enjoyed the atmosphere of the competition and is hoping the feel-good factor on the sidelines can help inspire his players.
“I have always enjoyed feeding off the crowd when I was a player in the Ryder Cup and I think it’s an incredible occasion, particularly playing at home, where the noise level and the people pulling for you can really elevate you,” he said. “I know that the players are looking forward to it. It’s like racehorses, big players like big occasions.
We like big occasions, big atmospheres.
“And I think if it is a very noisy Ryder Cup the crowd can play a big part in hopefully elevating the players to a new level and hopefully perform better.”
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