New York police have reassured fans that they are prepared if anyone attempts to “make a statement” at the Ryder Cup following the death of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, a high-profile political activist, was shot dead on September 10 in Utah, raising concerns that there may be another incident when the Ryder Cup descends on the Bethpage Black course later this week.
The bi-annual event will see teams from Europe and the US pitted against each other in three days of action for one of the most coveted prizes in golf.
New York State Police Major Stephen Udice has revealed they will be treating the event as if an attack is likely to happen. He revealed: “If anything, the likelihood of somebody trying to use an event like this to make a statement is only increased.
The Ryder Cup will have increased security following Charlie Kirk's death
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“Some would argue it's much higher. We are planning as if there's threats.
"We have multiple different layers that someone looking to cause chaos and harm is going to have to get through.
"In an event of this size, with the attention that this is going to get around the world, we also recognise that this is a target."
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Udice insisted that his team has “a tremendous amount of resources” assigned to the event, stating: “It is on par with a Super Bowl and a World Series, but what makes this even more challenging is that it's in a 1,400-acre park, not a contained stadium,
"We have drones, we're going to have several state police helicopters, we have chemical units, biological units, radiological units, numerous bomb-disposal dogs."
With President Donald Trump planning to attend the Bethpage Black course on Friday, Udice admitted the attendance of the President will offer an additional challenge for the force.
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The two teams will do battle over the weekend with Donald Trump in attendance
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He continued: “It's definitely going to create another challenge, but that's also something that we incorporated into our plan a year and a half ago.
"We're trying to strike that balance between minimising the interruption to all the spectators but also keeping the president safe.”
Ryder Cup director Bryan Karns revealed that the attendance of Trump is "the hardest thing we'll have to do, probably,
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“There's some things that would certainly take a little bit longer, but I think not to the point that someone would be precluded from getting to a seat on the first tee. Obviously, there are some logistical challenges, but none that we can't solve.
“No, we won't delay play, that's pretty much set in stone in terms of how we operate. We don't have the luxury of flipping the lights on and finishing this at 8 or 9pm.
Donald Trump enjoy golfs and owns various courses around the world
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"Obviously, we take our lead from the Secret Service and the White House, who have been incredibly collaborative. We have not felt like we're not being listened to, and that's been reassuring to us.”
The Ryder Cup will get underway on Friday, with Trump in attendance in the late morning.