High winds forced organisers to close the course for three and a half hours at the start of the day.

Woosnam said he gave his team the option of going out on to the course and was delighted when they all agreed to play.

"I said to the lads I would like you to play nine holes, it gives them some idea what conditions may be like for the next few days," he told reporters. "All the lads wanted to play and I was really pleased.

"I would have understood if the guys didn't want to go out and ruin their swings (in this weather) so I gave them an option.

"With 40,000-odd people wanting to watch, I also thought it was important for the players to maybe go to the practice range, hit a few balls and sign a few autographs."

No news has yet emerged from the U.S. camp on whether their players might practice.

Asked if the European team's decision to go out could be interpreted as a public relations coup, Woosnam replied: "I cannot speak for the Americans."

"Maybe they don't want to ruin their swings. But I thought it would be good to sign a few autographs."

When the Americans began their first practice session on Tuesday, world number one Tiger Woods was paired with Jim Furyk, Chris DiMarco with Phil Mickelson and David Toms with Chad Campbell in captain Tom Lehman's strongest permutations.

His other pairings featured Scott Verplank with Brett Wetterich, Vaughn Taylor with fellow rookie Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink with J.J. Henry.

The 36th Ryder Cup begins with four fourball matches on Friday morning.