The National Weather Service forecast called for cloudy and cold, with a drizzle and a chance of more sustained rain. Temperatures were expected to peak in the 60s.

The rain was expected to pass by Thursday.

"Hopefully, the rain will come this evening," U.S. captain Ben Crenshaw said Tuesday. "I think that has maybe accelerated some people's wanting to get out to the course."

The Boston Herald reported last week that the Ryder Cup would have been held last weekend except that NBC wanted to broadcast a college football game between Notre Dame and Michigan State.

That turned out to be a stroke of luck for the golfers, because Hurricane Floyd drenched the area from Thursday night into Friday, which would have been the tournament's opening day. The course took on 8 inches of rain.

"That was the only thing that (course superintendent) Bill Spence feared," Crenshaw said. "We're right into the (hurricane) season here. We've been very, very lucky."

Check the facts, Tiger
Tiger Woods, who has a 1-3-1 record after playing in his first Ryder Cup at Valderrama in 1997, said a player doesn't need to win in the pressure-packed event to be considered great.

"The greatest player of all time, Jack Nicklaus, had a losing record in the Ryder Cup," Woods said. "I don't think that's going to say that he's been a bad player. ... It's obvious that Jack has gone on to do some pretty good things in the game of golf."

Well, he's half right.

Nicklaus actually went 17-8-3 in six Ryder Cups -- one of the best winning percentages among Americans who have played in more than five tournaments. Only Billy Casper, Arnold Palmer and Lanny Wadkins have won more matches than Nicklaus.

Priceless moments
Reported scalpers' price for 1999 Ryder Cup tickets: $5,000.

Watching Bernhard Langer and Hale Irwin duel to the final hole of the 1991 event at Kiawah Island, S.C.: Priceless.

That's the opinion of a credit card company's poll of golf reporters on the top moments in Ryder Cup history.

With the Cup on the line, Irwin hit his approach to the final green wide, chipped onto the green and put his first putt within a foot. After conceding Irwin's bogey, the German put a 45-footer 6 feet past the hole and missed the comebacker for par, halving the match and returning the Ryder Cup to the U.S. (14½-13½) for the first time since 1985.

No. 2 on the list was Jack Nicklaus conceding Tony Jacklin's 2-foot putt at the 18th hole at Royal Birkdale in 1969. Third was Sam Torrance's 18-foot birdie at the Belfry in 1985 that gave Europe its first Cup since 1957.

Divots