The Ryder Cup was over-sold. There was a sense that the Ryder Cup was something like a weekend-long World Cup. The television audience would be "1 billion"; traders shouldn't "rip-off" the tourists who come for the golf; the Ryder Cup represents a great "opportunity to showcase the wider tourism product".
I never had the idea that the Ryder Cup was a big deal in the US. Big with golf fans? Probably, but not as big as the Masters or the US Open. I suspect that the situation is not much different with European golf fans. I've often wondered if the Ryder Cup was only really a big deal in Britain and Ireland and now we know.
Today's Sunday Business Post reports that the demand for hotel rooms is nowhere near what was expected. Rooms are apparently easy to come by.
I'm sure the organizers know - and have known for some time - that nearly all the tickets to the event were sold to people who live within a couple of hours drive from the K Club. The whole idea that there'd be a large number of people coming here for the event was false.
