BILLY Foster may have seen it all before but the Ryder Cup continues to send shivers down his spine.

The caddy from Keighley was working at golf's box-office event for an impressive 14th time last week in Paris.

Having made his debut in Europe's historic first ever win on American soil in 1987 - when he was on Gordon Brand Junior's bag - the Bingley St Ives member has witnessed up close just how popular the Ryder Cup has become.

Apart from 1995 and 2012 - when injury forced him to miss the miracle of Medinah - he has been part of the European camp at every tournament since.

And following the hosts' hiding of the Americans to regain the trophy in France, Foster remains as enchanted as ever with the magic of the cup.

He said: "There was just an incredible atmosphere. There must have been 20,000 people round the first hole and 7,000 behind the grandstand on the first tee.

"It was electrifying, spine-tingling stuff, brilliant."

In 2006, Foster compared the crowd at the K Club when Ireland hosted the event to being more like one at Wembley Stadium yet he admitted Paris was on another level.

"The Ryder Cup just seems to get bigger and bigger every year. The staging was incredible."

As in 2008 at Valhalla, Foster was part of Europe's support team rather than actually caddying as his boss Lee Westwood was in a non-playing capacity as vice-captain.

He labelled his own role as "chief entertainments manager in the locker room". But the 52-year-old's experience will have no doubt been invaluable behind the scenes.

He said: "I've been there and gone through it all, so you try to put some of the caddies’ minds at rest and a few of the players as well by saying the right things at the right time - even when it comes down to chatting to Lee about certain things, which go on to be mentioned to Thomas (Bjorn)."

Despite many pundits claiming the Americans had one of their best ever teams on paper, they were completely outclassed by the Europeans on and off the course.

Familiarity with Le Golf National certainly helped the hosts, who regularly play the venue on the European Tour.

But once again the ability to forge a superior team spirit was key to success.

When asked why the Europeans seem to gel better, Foster said: "It's hard to put your finger on it.

"All our players grew up being football fans at heart and they really thrive on that team atmosphere.

"Maybe America don’t have that same degree of passion (from being a football fan).

"Europe really are a band of brothers who come from different parts and different borders.

"It’s a special, special atmosphere when they get together and certain characters like Sergio Garcia come into their own.

"He is very boisterous in the locker-room like 'Poults' (Ian Poulter) and you need those big characters.

"Some people were saying maybe he shouldn’t have been picked but he proved to be an inspirational pick and a correct one."

Garcia passed Nick Faldo's individual points record for Europe and Foster believes there is more to come from the Spaniard.

He said: "Sergio's done it in his ninth Ryder Cup and Faldo has played 11. I would imagine he will go on to get more points. I’d say there would be at least one more cup in Sergio if not a couple."

Having previously caddied for Garcia and his countryman - and key inspiration - Seve Ballesteros, Foster can see similarities between the two when it comes to their hunger for Ryder Cup success.

He said: "I'm sure Seve was his idol growing up as young lad. He certainly has similar attributes with his passion and desire. You need those characters to bring the best out of quieter lads."

The Eldwick-based bag-man also had a spell caddying for Bjorn, most notably when the Dane let the Open Championship fall through his grasp at Sandwich in 2003.

One of the more unsung players during Europe's dominance over the last two decades, Bjorn proved a more than capable skipper who got the better of USA counterpart Jim Furyk.

Asked what impressed him about his captaincy, Foster said: "His honesty – he left no guy in doubt what he was thinking.

"He made some tough calls and at certain stages it didn’t seem to be going right, especially the first morning but you’ve got to back your players, say the right things and don’t wilt when things seem to be going upside down.

"He stuck with those pairings and they went out on Friday afternoon and came up with a 4-0 win.

"He was honest with himself and the players. He was a strong character in the team room."

There was no doubting what Bjorn's best pairing was, with Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari - aka 'Moliwood' - winning four out of four points.

Foster said: "They are genuinely good friends off the golf course.

"They are different players and different personalities but they were an absolute inspiration to the team.

"Tommy’s a rockstar and Frankie is a real solid, honest character. They gelled so well together and were the star pairing for us, making things easier for us on the Sunday."