Wives and partners steal the show at Ryder Cup opening ceremony

Wives and partners of Team Europe on the eve of the Ryder Cup. Photo / Getty

The Ryder Cup opening ceremony had a distinctly European feel about it.

Wives and girlfriends of the 24 players, captains and vice-captains were out in force along with thousands of fans ahead of this weekend's spectacle at Le Golf National on the outskirts of Paris.

Both sets of wives and girlfriends were wearing matching elegant outfits - Team America in black dresses while Team Europe in white with blue jackets and scarfs in the colours of the French flag.

English band Kaiser Chiefs played in front of a partisan European crowd before The Patrouille de France flew over.

Tiger Woods of the United States and girlfriend Erica Herman. Photo / Getty

Team Europe captain Thomas Bjorn and Team USA captain Jim Furyk took to the stage before Furyk gave a grandiose speech where he made reference to France's gifting of the Statue of Liberty to America in 1886 before introducing his team.

Tiger Woods was introduced last by Furyk with the biggest cheer of their announcement reserved for the legendary 14-time major winner.

Wives and partners of Team America applaud during the Ryder Cup opening ceremony. Photo /Getty

After a performance from French singer Jain, the captains then announced their pairings for the four fourball matches taking place tonight NZT.

Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau of the USA will take on Justin Rose and Jon Rahm in the first match of the 42nd Ryder Cup, with Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler taking on Rory McIlroy and Thorbjorn Olsen after that.

The wives and partners of the Europe Team ahead of the Ryder Cup. Photo /Getty

Thorbjorn Olesen of Europe and Rory McIlroy of Europe react after being matched against Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler. Photo / Getty

The final two matches of the morning see Furyk unleash four major winners.

Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas face Paul Casey an Tyrrell Hatton, while Patrick Reed and Woods take on Open champion Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood.