Ryder Cup Europe LLP will make in the region of €15 million in profit from the event at the K Club, organisers have said.
The tournament, in Straffan, Co Kildare, which cost €50 million to stage, was declared a complete success by the organisers yesterday. A spokesman for the event said that there had been many challenges to deal with over the course of the six days, in particular extreme weather on Thursday night, but the event had run as smoothly and successfully as possible.
Despite heavy showers early in the day, and a sea of mud, 45,000 people arrived to watch the last day of the tournament and see Europe retain the prestigious trophy for a record third consecutive time.
American team captain Tom Lehman agreed with the assessment of organisers and attributed the success of the event in part to the good behaviour of fans. Addressing fans at the closing ceremony he said: "you helped make this the best Ryder Cup ever".
"The people of this country have made me feel so special. So from the bottom of my heart thank you and God bless you." He also told the European team that he didn't know if any team had ever played better than them.
European team captain Ian Woosnam, having inhaled large quantities of champagne and drunk a pint of Guinness, also thanked the fans."We expected a great week in Ireland, you have made it the greatest week in history."
Rodger Warren, president of PGA America, was also quick to praised the fans for the way they conducted themselves, as well as the 1,200 people who volunteered at the course.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, before presenting the Ryder Cup trophy to Woosnam, reserved a special word of thanks for K Club owner Dr Michael Smurfit, who he said had "believed from the start" and put "effort and drive" into bringing the event to Ireland. "It has been a great privilege for our country to host the Ryder Cup."
One of the off-course heroes of the event was master chef Frank Coughlan, who fed 33,600 people in hospitality facilities over six days. Mr Coughlan, who is from Crawley in England and has Irish parents, worked for corporate caterers Compass and was yesterday presented with an award for service. A bog oak carving, made by Celtic Roots, Athlone, was presented by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Mr Ahern thanked him for lunch and congratulated him on a job well done.
The master chef had put in 16-hour days during the event to ensure that 11 different kitchens, with 1,200 staff, including 120 chefs, ran smoothly.
Sales people in the tented village also put in long days. Merchandise was sold out at most of the stores and although figures were not being made available by Ryder Cup Ltd, it is understood that the goods sold were worth a seven-figure sum. A spokesman said that it had been "a very good week" for merchandising.
Some 200 staff will today begin to dismantle the Ryder Cup "circus". They will remove the 24 grandstands, 40,000sq metres of tents, 195 mobile offices and toilets, and other structures brought in to enable the tournament to be staged.
It will take up to six weeks to clear the entire course of Ryder Cup paraphernalia and return the K Club to normal.
However, the battered walkways and verges will take a lot longer to recover.
