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SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) – The captain of the European team of the Ryder Cup said Thursday that his players were an example of how the continent "presents itself".
Thomas Bjorn, a Danish living in London, took advantage of his speech at the opening ceremony of the biggest golf event to talk about his pride in being European.
"It's the only time Europe is united," Bjorn said. "It's the week more than ever that the flag represents the border of this great continent."
Europe, he added, "can sometimes be a fragmented place, but as far as the Ryder Cup is concerned, it's different. As for the Ryder Cup, Europe is only one. "
Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016 and is finalizing the terms of its divorce, which is scheduled for next March.
Six British players are part of the European team at the Golf National outside Paris this week.
Speaking after the ceremony, Mr Bjorn said that he was not talking about the Brexit issue in his speech.
"I'm interested in what we are in this European team hall," he said. "And believe me, if you look at all the UK players on this team, they wore it (a yellow ribbon) today because this week is what they represent.
"For us, this represents the borders of Europe this week. It does not represent a European Union. "
Bjorn said that Europeans "have forgotten that we have a lot in common".
"That's my opinion," he said. "Everyone does not share this opinion, but that's my opinion. I had the impression of wanting to show what we are as a team to people who were watching us. "
Players did not discuss Brexit in the days leading up to the Ryder Cup.
Paul Casey, from England, was invited on Thursday to see if the European team's supporters' unit was encouraging at such a tumultuous time for Britain.
"I did not even think about it," Casey said. "I hope I have a few games to play the next few days."
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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Steve Douglas is at www.twitter.com/sdouglas80
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