sdandrea1 - I bought my pair of tickets the Ryder Cup in Louisville online in the secondary market a few weeks ahead of the event. Actually, I ended up buying the 'International Pavillion' upgrade option which was a humongous tent, air-conditioned, no food lines, big screen televisions, more than an adequate number of bathroom facilities, and supposedly upgraded menu selections. The eye candy was a plus. I paid about what the face value of the general admission tickets would have cost because all tickets were selling at a discount when I pulled the trigger on the buy.
A dear friend rolled the dice and drove down to Louisville from Indianapolis without tickets. He was planning to wait until he got to the course to seriously start looking for tickets but stuck two fingers up in the air indicating he needed a pair at the main parking lot (shuttle buses in/out from Churchill Downs that year). So, a guy walked up to him and sold him a pair of CORPORATE PASSES to the ESPN hospitality tent! Less than what I paid!
You have the right attitude to still go in and do a little trolling for your tickets just prior to or even around the event.