European captain Bernhard Langer today spelt out his determination to cling on to the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills.
Langer and opposite number Hal Sutton stressed the importance of playing the contest in the right spirit when they met at Detroit's Metro airport.
The home side is looking to win the trophy for the first time since the controversial victory at Brookline five years ago.
On that occasion the behaviour of some of the American spectators marred a brilliant fightback from the home team, and Mark James, the European captain in1999, has already expressed his concerns about a repeat performance in Detroit.
"We all know once in a while it gets out of hand but we will do our utmost to maintain what we started two years ago," Langer said on arriving with his team last night.
"The last Ryder Cup was a great example of what it should be. The spectators behaved very well overall and our intention is to follow in those footsteps."
Langer added: "If you look at the majors that have been won and tournaments in general and the world rankings the American team is a lot stronger than the European team, but we know over the last 20 years we have been very evenly matched.
"We've enjoyed having the Ryder Cup in Europe for the last two years and it's our intention to take it back with us on Monday."
Filed by Barry McEneaney
