Golf-Volume turned up as Ryder Cup ready for lift-off

Golf - The 2023 Ryder Cup - Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome, Italy - September 28, 2023 The aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Air Force, Frecce Tricolori, perform a flyover during the opening ceremony with the Ryder Cup trophy pictured in the foreground REUTERS/Yara Nardi

ROME (Reuters) - A spectacular fly past by the Italian air force's Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team drowned out the start of U.S. captain Zach Johnson's speech at the opening ceremony of the 44th Ryder Cup on Thursday. It could be a portent of things to come.

Johnson's 12-man team will be defending the trophy the U.S won back with a crushing victory at Whistling Straits in 2021 but will have to block out raucous home support at the Marco Simone Country Club, east of Rome.