Yikes
Things get ugly Saturday at the Ryder Cup — with the fans and with the score
U.S. Ryder Cup fans had little to cheer about Saturday at Bethpage, so they jeered to an extreme. The scene got ugly, but the nastiest scene of all was the scoreboard.
www.nbcsports.com
“… Depending on your allegiance, it’s either a rousing triumph from arguably the greatest Ryder Cup captain ever, a masterclass in preparation and execution that has put his stars in position to succeed despite the most hostile environment in the tournament’s raucous history.
Or, to put it bluntly: It’s an unmitigated disaster, from the top on down.
It’s the PGA of America, who installed a still-in-his-prime player with no experience, who cooked up $750 ticket prices to seemingly give fans free license to voice their disapproval, and who appeared woefully unprepared for the onslaught of taunts Saturday that was so overwhelming that it compelled McIlroy, on the sixth green, to tell the referee: “I’m not going to putt until they shut up.”
It’s rookie captain Keegan Bradley, who opted for a toothless setup that doesn’t accentuate his team’s skill set and trotted out a few head-scratching pairings that laid the foundation for a two-day whooping unlike any in the modern era
… Remember when it was viewed as unsportsmanlike for the home crowd to cheer when an opponent missed a green?
This is the new era entirely. Angry, salty, vulgar. Over the line.
They taunted McIlroy over his personal life.
They mocked Lowry and Rahm about their weight.
They chided Bob MacIntyre about his appearance.
They chirped when players were about to pull back the club. Then they booed relentlessly when they backed off to reset.
… By late Saturday, the massive grandstand behind the first tee and 18th green had been overtaken by European supporters, dancing and chanting, “Ole! Ole! Ole!” as the players made their way to the final green.
With strength in numbers, one European fan belted out: “You want to get paid for this s--t, Cantlay?”
A few members of the European team snickered. It was finally their turn to fight back.“