Holistic Athlete Weekly Newsletter

Ryder Cup Fans and the Problem it Reflects

This past weekend many were upset and embarrassed by the American fans who verbally berated European players — particularly Rory McIlroy — yelling profanities and vulgar comments towards them as people, as well as an incident where a drink was thrown that hit McIlroy’s wife. Many times, Team USA players such as Justin Thomas, who is as competitive as they come, attempted to quiet the crowd from yelling and swearing at Rory while he was about to putt the ball or attempt a shot from the rough, when silence and respect while the player is executing a shot for competitive reasons is an extremely well understood rule of attending a golf event. Here are some of my general thoughts:

• The Ryder Cup is notoriously rowdy, passionate, and allows for fans and players to have fun by breaking from the media-trained cordial environment most golf tournaments are played in. When the Ryder Cup is hosted by Europe, their fans are loud and heckling American players as well. In many ways, the dynamic between the fans and players at the Ryder Cup is the most entertaining aspect of it, and the players often feed off it — fist pumping and yelling at the crowd either to excite them or to silence them.

• That said, the general vibe and approach from this year’s crowd was a departure from typical competitive trash talk and excitement, and it crossed the line into abuse.

• Rory McIlroy lives in Florida. His wife and child are American. He has constantly said that the United States is the greatest country in the world, which was a big part of his decision to forgo a 9-figure offer from LIV Golf and stay on the PGA Tour. He is also one of the most decorated athletes of all time — one of only 6 players to ever accomplish a career Grand Slam (winning all 4 majors), and just accomplished that this year in Georgia at the Masters where the fans were overwhelmingly supportive of him. In short — he doesn’t deserve to be treated like that by golf fans.