IT took months of planning and preparation to put on one of the world's biggest sporting shows, which organisers said reached more than 500 million homes across the world.
And as the stars of the Ryder Cup - including US team captain Tom Watson, European captain Paul McGinley and world number one Rory McIlroy - prepared to leave Scotland with their families, the clear-up at Gleneagles began.
It will take more than a month to complete an eco-friendly wind-down operation at the luxury golf resort after the course, nestled in the Ochil Hills in Perthshire, played host to 250,000 golf fans for the international tournament.
The event, in which Europe beat the US after three days of play, counted people from all over Scotland, the UK and the world among the 40,000 match ticket-holders a day and 120,000 practice-day spectators.
Workers have now started to wrap up equipment including more than 10 miles of rope, 5000 white stakes, 14,000 grandstand seats and 600 flags.
There are enough tents to cover 130,000 sq ft, 60 electricity generators and 500 wheelie bins to be carted off over the next six weeks.
It is estimated the tournament, broadcast live to nearly 200 countries, will generate £100 million for the economy, and its coverage is worth the equivalent of £40m of advertising.
Antonia Beggs, operations director at Ryder Cup Europe, said: "The deconstruction of the 2014 Ryder Cup is under way and will be completed by mid-November.
"It will follow the same principles of the build stage, meaning we will work to minimise disruption and noise to the local community.
"Exterior equipment like the big screens and signage will go first, followed by the interior fit-out and then the tents themselves. "Everything that is used, from the large grandstand coverings, carpets and scaffolding, will either be reused at other sporting events in Europe or recycled, contributing to our aim of staging a zero-waste-to-landfill Ryder Cup."
Richard Hills, Europe's Ryder Cup director, said it was hoped the event would leave a lasting legacy, including for the hundreds of thousands of young people involved in a golf exchange initiative.
Alex Salmond, who played golf at Gleneagles yesterday, said the tournament marked the end of a sporting summer that started with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He said the tournament showed "this game is bigger than me, it's even bigger than Donald [Trump]".
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