In a piece I wrote a couple of months ago, I talked of how ignorant I was about the State of Kentucky – Neil has mentioned my comments in one of his superb blog entries further down this page. Well, I thought I ought to take a moment to tell you what I’ve learned of the place so far.

First of all, the State is officially known as The Commonwealth of Kentucky. It's generally considered to be one of the Southern States but occasionally it’s described as being in the Midwest. It was originally part of Virginia and it became the 15th State to join the Union in 1792.

Neil and I were lucky enough to be invited to a party on Thursday night hosted by the Kentucky Tourist Board. It showcased two of the most entertaining things Kentucky is famous for: Bourbon whiskey and Bluegrass music.

Bourbon County is in the northeast of Kentucky and is home to some 20,000 people. It’s also the home of bourbon whiskey. We sampled a selection of Kentucky’s finest bourbons including Maker’s Mark, Woodford Reserve and, the interestingly named, Knob Creek … all very nice indeed.

Bluegrass is basically country music, but you can hear its Scottish and Irish roots in the melodies and rhythms. A fabulous band played at the party and we thoroughly enjoyed their lively tunes for about an hour and a half.

One of the greatest sportsmen of all time, Muhammad Ali, was born in Louisville Kentucky. The city and the State are rightly proud to have him as a son and there is a museum dedicated to the great man in downtown Louisville.

As a place, we haven’t seen a huge amount of Kentucky. We’re staying in a Holiday Inn on the side of the motorway and we’ve been ferried from there to the golf course and back each day. But, I’ll tell you what I think of what we’ve seen.

There are a scary number of churches and many of them are absolutely huge. Last night I watched a political debate show on Louisville TV, there was an absolutely terrifying woman who spoke in favour of John McCain. She appeared smartly dressed and well educated but her views were extreme. She spoke about abortion and how, if you consider that life begins at conception, then abortion is murder and if you also consider that McCain (and she) believe in capital punishment then anyone who aborts an unborn baby should be executed…. Unbelievable stuff.

Everything here is geared towards driving. All the shops, restaurants, banks, insurance brokers, everything in fact, appears to be basically a drive-through. The roads are a bit of a shambles - huge freeways with massive intersections with traffic lights that change approximately every 15 minutes. People do a good deal of sitting still in their gas-guzzlers.

As in all of America, there seems to be a huge divide between the rich and poor. The other day we took a detour through one of the wealthier residential areas and I was amazed by the size and opulence of some of the homes – huge villas with pillared fronts and sprawling gardens. But, some of the other areas we’ve seen look far less plush – run down shacks and trailer parks. In the aftermath of hurricane Ike some of the news channels have occasionally shown the conditions that the less fortunate residents are living in – not exactly the American dream.

On the whole, the people here are extremely friendly and welcoming. They are genuinely interested in where you’ve come from and they want to help you in any way they can. The fans at the golf course may be loud but they’re certainly not nasty.

So do I like it here? Yes, I think so. The countryside is pleasant, the culture is interesting and the whiskey highly palatable. Would I live here? No.

There is a general feeling of disbelief and confusion on the European side of the media centre this morning. Just what is Faldo playing at? In what world can he think it’s a good idea to drop Westwood and Garcia? – a pairing that’s unbeaten in their last 9 Ryder Cup foursomes matches and managed to scrape a vital half yesterday morning.

Just what strange whim has led him to believe that Oliver Wilson should make his debut in foursomes alongside Henrik Stenson? I could see them as a possible fourball partnership but I have my doubts that they will gel in foursomes. And, they’re facing Mickelson and Kim – basically, they’ve got no chance.

Jimenez and McDowell – again, who knows how they’ll get on together? Maybe Faldo does, but I doubt it. They take on Mahan and Leonard, the star pairing for the US yesterday. If this European duo were a pair of cats hovering around the gates of hell, I’d seriously recommend they didn’t go inside.

Poulter and Rose are about to lead us off. I really can’t understand the amount of trust Faldo’s putting in Poulter. Well, I can actually. He’s attempting to justify his decision to pick the Englishman ahead of Darren Clarke. It seems to me Faldo is far more intent to prove himself a great captain than he is for his team to win. What he seems to have forgotten is that in order to be considered a great captain, your team really has to win.

NOT exactly going to plan is it? Still thrilling though. Some of the golf
played in the afternoon four balls was as good as I have seen in these
matches, guys reaching deep inside themselves to find stuff many of them
didn't know they had.

This of course is how it should be. At the end of it all a weary looking
Nick Faldo came into the Media Centre here and projected positivity. What
other choice did he have? Answer: None. Still, it was an impressive
performance from a man who must have feared the worst until JB Holmes and
Boo Weekley went for the water option up the last to throw him and his team
a life-raft.

Until that moment it had been overwhelmingly America's day. Good on them
too. The last couple of matches have been fun in a take that you blighters
sort of way but for those of us who savour a close contest there was
something missing. Yesterday in Kentucky this something was back.

The Americans, minus Tiger Woods, but plus Factor X put on a show. Europe,
slipping into an early and high gear, slid away under the onslaught while
the local fans roared their delight. It was in many ways good both to hear
and to see. Nothing bad took place at Valhalla yesterday, just good, old
noisy support. It may yet turn bleaker but for now the atmosphere is
perfect.

What is not perfect is the way this course is set up. It is just a tad too
easy for that to be the case. Wide fairways, playable rough, accessible pin
positions. Paul Azinger has gone for the birdiefest option and it may be
smart move on his part. Or it just may play into the hands of the Europeans
who have now taken a couple of blows to the chin but who also know what to
expect during the second day.

In the end it will all come down to who holes a putt here and a chip there.
These sides are close. Europe are the superior players as a whole but the
Americans have the support and this home advantage is playing well for them
right now. You have to make them favourites but don't despair of a European
victory.

"America threw a great first day at us but the golf over the last hour
particularly was just fantastic, " said Faldo. "We may be down in points
but we're up in spirits because the way it all ended. We'll be ready to
have our own great day now." Watch and, hopefully, enjoy from here on in. I
know I will. Pity about Ben Curtis though. Isn't it?

Neil and I have enjoyed a great Thursday out and about in Valhalla. The atmosphere has been fantastic all day long and the fans have generally conducted themselves admirably. We’ve heard some pretty amusing stuff through the day though and thought we should share some of the best quotes:

“The European team has a guy called Oliver Wilson? Who the hell is he, a member of parliament? Nick Faldo’s butler?” – Rick Reilly on ESPN radio.

“Where’s your Tiger gone?”  - Sung by the European crowd around the first tee at 7.30am this morning.

“Where’s Luke McDonald this week?” US fan by the 17th green.

“He’s practically taken a brass-rubbing of this green.” - Andrew Cotter on Padraig Harrington after he took roughly three days to read his birdie putt at the 16th.

“There’s a reason why no Scandinavian has won a Major – They’re too nice. And Faldo has three of them on his team!” – Rick Reilly again.

“What do you mean you’ve run out of XXXL?” – A generously proportioned chap disappointed by the selection in the merchandising tent.

“God it’s hot today!” – Neil to a chap from Arkansas called Justin by the 11th tee.

“You call this hot?!”  - Justin.

“We got half a point, it’s actually a point as they lose half a point and we win half a point.” – Lee Westwood displays his own brand of logic after the foursomes.

“Get in the jug!” – An interesting variation on an old classic.

“Do you guys wrestle orang-utans too?” – John Inverdale to a group of Boo Weekley fans.

Last night, before Fergus and I left the media centre we wrote a post on the GM Forum asking if there were any questions that you wanted us to find answers for. Thank you to all those who posted, here are the answers:

Viscount 17: the US are making a lot of noise about their 'european togetherness' - does it seems real or hype?

I’d say the Americans look like a far closer unit than I’ve ever seen them before. Everyone here sees them as massive underdogs and Azinger has definitely sent them out with a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude. If you ask me (which you did) Tiger not being here has certainly helped them.

Dodger: How fast are the greens?

The American commentators on ESPN seem to think they are slower than the average PGA Tour event. I was amazed by this because they seem just as fast as Augusta’s. If they are a touch slower than the average PGA Tour greens, they are still faster than European Tour greens.

John Findlay: What's the rough percentage of European fans? Are there lots of them?

On the first tee this morning I reckoned the European fans totalled around 30-40%. However, when you get out onto the course, it feels as if that percentage goes down massively. Perhaps we’re just early risers!

TOMO21: What’s the general feeling about Faldo so far.

In the media centre, the general consensus is that Faldo is acting very strangely. His opening ceremony speech went down like a lead balloon and some of his parings have already been questioned. By contrast, everyone here seems to respect Azinger, especially as he had the balls to play all 12 of his team today. Put it this way, Faldo’s got some serious catching up to do!

Imurg: Are there any obvious tweaks that Zinger has had made to the course to increase home advantage?

In his press conference yesterday Azinger said that he wanted the course to be generous off the tee so that if you finished in the rough, you still had a shot to the green. I’m not too sure if that gives them an advantage but it certainly adds to the exciting birdie-making potential.

HomerJSimpson: Do you sense an undercurrent of over the top patriotism especially with two hometown boys in the team or is the atmosphere fervent but fair?

No. Not yet, at least. So far it’s been really friendly and as Europeans they seem to like it when we cheer. However, it’s still early on day one and there is plenty of beer to be drunk. I think these guys have the potential to get quite feisty… If it’s close on Sunday, I’m sure it’ll get very noisy. But I suppose, after the K Club, what did we expect?

Gil_Emot: Do sports journalists from the rest of Europe give the impression of disliking Faldo as much as the British "journalists" do?
In a word, yes. He’s so strange and the other European seem to pick up on that. Conversely, the Americans seem to quite like his style. Perhaps they know him better than we do??

Tony N: Who was the cheeky chappy to spot the "sandwich list" wasn't u guys was it?

Good question and the answer is, I’m not sure. However, I suspect it was one of the photographers who then fed it to the press. I could be wrong though.

Theeaglehunter: Is it difficult to actually see any of the players?

This is a real stadium course and to my surprise, it’s remarkably easy to see. There are loads of people here but natural mounding allows for some great vantage points. Every spectator here will have been able to taste the action and the atmosphere. Yesterday Fergus interviewed Terry Matthews, the owner of Celtic Manor and he said some really interesting things about what makes a good Ryder Cup course. You can find the interview on the news pages of this site.

A visit to the merchandise tent here is quite an experience. I’ve just done it and feel a little shell-shocked. It’s about the size of two football pitches and is packed to the gunnels with all manner of things bearing the Ryder Cup logo. I think I saw a Ryder Cup toothbrush in there.

I would estimate there were something in the region of 1,000 people in the tent, all clambering to get their hands on things like mauve and lilac Ryder Cup tank-tops and Ryder Cup shot glasses. I was keen to get some souvenirs but the sheer scale of the place got to me. I wandered through in a confused daze, unthinkingly throwing items into my shopping bag. “Polo shirts, yes I’ll need a few of them. Hats? Oh yes a couple I think. A windcheater? Why not…”

By the time I reached the checkout I had enough clobber to kit out my own Ryder Cup team. A quick bit of mental arithmetic while in the queue and I suddenly realised I was about to spend nearly $600. A swift about-turn ensued and I began the ignominious task of trailing back through the store replacing the vast majority of items I’d selected. Another 10 minutes and I was back at the till with roughly a third of what I was originally going to leave with. It’s a very dangerous place and I won’t be going back.

As I write this, things are looking a little sketchy for the European side. After a very promising start to the foursomes, the US roared back towards the end of the round and could easily have won all four matches. As it was, Harrington and Karlsson and Westwood and Garcia scraped halves and the first session finished 3-1 to the Americans. It looks like this afternoon could be a tight affair too.

The surprise package is the pairing of Mahan and Leonard – they saw of Stenson and Casey by 3&2 this morning and are already two up on Garcia and Jimenez this afternoon. Mahan has started birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie. Anyone would think he had something to prove.

When news broke in the GM office that I'd be making my Ryder Cup debut this autumn in the US (as a spectator not as a player… yet), it didn't take long for visions of Brookline to creep into my mind. With hoards of over-excited Americans running around shouting “U-S-A”, I was strangely looking forward to experiencing this rather spiky atmosphere. I was ready to be intimidated.

Fast-forward to this morning and the alarm clock had been set for 6am so that Fergus and I could get to the course to be on the first tee for the opening shots. To my surprise the majority of the fans sitting in our section of the 'bleachers', were fellow Europeans. I was surrounded by leprechauns, dragons, tartan-wearing gingers and many others sporting the colours of their native European countries. I, on the other hand was wearing my standard issue Golf Monthly uniform. I felt hugely under-dressed.

Looking at the fans surrounding the opening tee, I'd say the Euros were out-numbered by five to three. Not a bad effort from the boys in blue and you could see the European players really appreciated their support. What's more, a sing-off ensued about five minutes prior to the arrival on the tee of the first group. Suffice to say, we had a far more impressive portfolio of songs that culminated in a chorus of “where's your Tiger gone?”

The atmosphere in the stand was extremely friendly between different sets of the fans. If anything, the Americans were impressed by the effort made by their counterparts and were happy to laugh along with the odd, cocky comment of “we're going to win 28-0”.

One man, wearing a stars and stripes jumper, was ordered out of the stand 10 minutes before the opening drive by his wife who was standing, looking slightly miffed on the turf below. With his head hung, he embarked on an embarrassing and painful walk of shame. As he reached the bottom level of seating, one Scottish voice bellowed out, “Where are you going? You haven't lost yet.”

Our fans may be out-numbered but they're not going down without a fight!

I’m feeling a bit flustered at the moment because there’s just so much I want to do today and I don't see how I can fit it all in. I want to go out on the course and watch some more live golf, but I’m struggling to tear myself away from the big screen because I don’t want to miss a moment of the action. I also want to go to the merchandise tent and purchase as much Ryder Cup 2008 kit as I can possibly fit in a holdall, but I also need to get some food. Oh no…. food… more decisions. Do I want a breakfast burrito or pancakes and syrup, a hot dog or an ice cream (no Magnums sadly). Right, I’m just going to have to sit still until I calm down a little and begin thinking rationally again.

I’ve just seen something that made me laugh. Someone has brought a cardboard cut-out of Monty with them – brilliant.

Wow. I’ve just come back from the first tee where Neil and I stood in the stand and cheered every player in the first four matches. I can honestly say it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Strolling back to the Media Centre, Neil and I were pretty much silent save for the occasional utterance of, “Oh my god.”

The pressure cauldron of that first tee is difficult to describe. When the players approached the roar that went up was amazing. Even cheering as loud as possible, you still couldn't hear your voice. And the great thing was, it was clear the players were absolutely loving every moment of it. Ian Poulter gave a little nod and smile to the crowd that conveyed the feeling, “Yes, this is pretty cool isn’t it.”

Then, as each of the players prepared to take their shots, the cheers ceased and the silence was deafening. It was awesome that the focus of so many people was directed towards one person. And each of the guys who drove – Harrington, Mickelson, Leonard, Casey, Campbell, Rose, Furyk and Westwood - dealt with it superbly. To stand up with that level of scrutiny upon you and to boost a drive away down the fairway displays just what talented and poised sportspeople they are. I am feeling very impressed. If it had been me in that situation I think I would have just wanted to curl up into the foetal position and cover my ears until everybody went away.

Special credit must go to Padraig Harrington who hit the first tee-shot of the competition when levels of expectation were at their highest. He fired one long and straight down the middle of the fairway – then converted Karlsson’s excellent approach for a birdie three that took Europe into the lead after the very first hole of the match.

Until this point I’ve found it difficult to believe I’m actually at the Ryder Cup, but after that experience reality has hit home – I am here and it’s game on!

ps. I’m in this photo  - the last man on the right hand side, three rows up.