USA Ryder Cup crowd 'won't know who I am' admits Team Europe star

Sepp Straka, a member of Team Europe, has admitted that he may not be a familiar face to many of the home crowd at the Ryder Cup. The tournament is set to take place in the United States this week, with Straka being one of the 12 stars in Luke Donald's team aiming to clinch the prestigious trophy.

The competition will be hosted by New York's Bethpage Black, where Team Europe will strive to retain the trophy they convincingly won in Rome back in 2023. Straka was part of that victorious team led by Donald and managed to secure one point on his debut appearance at the tournament.

Straka has not been included in the opening round of foursomes that will kick off the first day, and instead will have to bide his time for his opportunity. Ahead of the Ryder Cup's first day, the 32-year-old suggested that he might not be well-known to the American home crowd.

"Fortunately, a lot of the crowd won't know who I am, but it'll be a tough environment regardless," Straka stated during his pre-tournament press conference.

Straka further elaborated on how he and his European teammates plan to utilise the atmosphere created by the home crowd at Bethpage Black to their benefit.

"We try to use the crowd to the best of our abilities - the crowd was incredible in Rome," Straka said. "It's going to be a lot more leaning on your team-mates this time, because that's where you're going to get most of your support out there.

"Getting to see Jon [Rahm] and Tyrrell [Hatton] is always great because obviously we don't get to see them as much as we used to.

"With the practice trip and all the time we get to spend off the golf course together, it is really incredible."

This year's Ryder Cup represents four years since Team Europe last battled in the competition on American soil. Donald and his team will be eager to secure a vastly better result, having suffered a crushing 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021.