By Larry Fine CHASKA, Minnesota (Reuters) - Moving tributes to Arnold Palmer and a celebration of sportsmanship from the Ryder Cup past highlighted Thursday's opening ceremony of the 41st edition of the match play event starting on Friday at Hazeltine. Under blue skies and warm sunshine, Palmer, who died on Sunday aged 87, was honored in a touching video montage of his life and exploits on the golf course, and a moment of silence was observed for the man who was known simply as, 'The King'. Thousands of fans crowded a grassy expanse in front of a stage set under a giant banner of the gold trophy donated in 1927 by Samuel Ryder as a prize for the international competition held every two years.

By Tony Jimenez CHASKA, Minnesota (Reuters) - If it was down to Tony Jacklin, Europe's most decorated Ryder Cup captain, Danny Willett would not play in this week's matches against the United States until Sunday's final-day singles. The 72-year-old Englishman, described by ESPN this week as the man who saved the Ryder Cup in the 1980s, said the Willett incident that blew up earlier this week was "a mess". In an article published on a magazine website, he lampooned U.S. golf fans in a crude rant for which both Willet and Europe captain Darren Clarke later apologized.

In a bid to give holders Europe a fast start to the biennial competition, captain Darren Clarke will send out golfing heavyweights Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson first in a mouth-watering matchup. Olympic champion Rose and British Open winner Stenson, who went 3-0 when paired together at Gleneagles two years ago, will face sizzling American duo Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, two young guns who relish going toe-to-toe. Twice major winner Spieth and Reed, aged 23 and 26 respectively, formed an unbeaten partnership as rookies at the 2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland.

By Mark Lamport-Stokes CHASKA, Minnesota (Reuters) - Very rarely is a reigning major champion benched for the opening session of a Ryder Cup, but Masters winner Danny Willett found himself in exactly that position at Hazeltine National on Thursday. "No, it's a little bit of cat-and-mouse whenever you put pairings out together in practice rounds this week," Clarke told reporters after announcing his four pairings for Friday to get the 41st Ryder Cup under way. "And certainly with regard to Danny, he will be playing tomorrow afternoon.