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Ian Poulter may not be involved in Friday morning's fourballs, but he was still on hand to get Team Europe fans pumped up ahead of the start of this year's Ryder Cup
The Englishman, who has 12 points from his five appearances in the competition, made use of his status as a Ryder Cup legend at Le Golf National by conducting thousands of fans through a rendition of the Thunder Clap
It added to an already raucous atmosphere at the first tee, where the 6,900-seat grandstand was close to capacity before the sun had even risen over Versailles
Their Thunder Clap effort would have made Iceland's football team, who introduced it to the world of sport at the European Championships in 2016, proud
But Ryder Cup fans had little excuse not to be well coordinated after getting in a dress rehearsal with Rory McIlroy during Wednesday's practise round
The Northern Irishman was treated to a similar response from fans eager to get involved
Friday morning's effort certainly stoked the flames of a special atmosphere, which only seems to rear its head in golf for this special competition
Indeed, at no other time does fan involvement seemingly play such a huge part in the sport
That much was made clear by Le Golf National's decision to install a gigantic grandstand on the first tee, which takes a mammoth 94 steps to reach the top and seats almost 7,000 fans
The grandstand was at capacity by the time the first fourball teed off and Tony Finau got his first taste of Ryder Cup life
The Team USA star was booed incessantly as he approached the tee, but fans were respectful and fell to a deft silence as he hit the first shot of this year's competition
However, it appears the partisan atmosphere may have got to him as his drive went within inches of the water hazard
Luckily, Brooks Koepka spared his blushes with a more routine drive down the fairway
Poulter was able to relax with fans on Friday morning after being he was surprisingly left out of the fourballs by Team Europe captain Thomas Bjorn
Poulter is renowned for playing his best golf in the Ryder Cup and boasts a record of 12 wins, four loses and two ties from his five appearances
With a winning record of 72.2 per cent, Poulter is the most prolific Ryder Cup player to have competed in a minimum of 15 matches
He is likely to be back in action for the singles, where he has won a staggering four matches out of five
But beyond his play, it is the passion that he displays that has helped to endear him to fans of both Team Europe and Team USA
So much so that NBA legend Michael Jordan could not help but give Poulter, who has so regularly been the thorn in Team USA's side, a warm greeting at the first tee
A huge golf fan himself, Jordan appeared to share a joke with Poulter before being introduced to his son, Luke
Although the peak of Jordan's career was well before the 14-year-old's time, the youngster still looked a little starstruck by the Chicago Bulls legend
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