FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Walking the fairway on the second hole at Bethpage Black, a U.S. fan in a flag-inspired suit and a red, white and blue chain around his neck with a cocktail in hand found a moment of clarity at the Ryder Cup.
“Nobody’s got any spirit right now,” he said to anyone around who would listen. “Maybe we need to be the bigger people and cheer a little bit more.”
That spirit was gone nearly an hour before the final match Saturday finished. Americans streamed to the exits early as Europe
piled on for an 11 1/2-4 1/2 lead. Before calling it, fans tried anything and everything into the afternoon to will the home team into the tournament with “U-S-A” chants and even an off-key, a cappella rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner."
Alongside that energy came some unsavory interactions with Rory McIlroy and lots of not-safe-for-work language from a feisty New York crowd with a reputation for being a difference-maker. It's uncertain what that will look like Sunday with ticket prices for the final round plummeting.
“We’ve got passionate fans out here,” U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said from near the 18th green after the afternoon session. “Their fans are loud, too. You can hear them right now.”
Law enforcement bulked up security specifically around McIlroy and Shane Lowry's match against Justin Thomas and Cameron Young in afternoon fourballs. McIlroy and Lowry had several exchanges with fans, and Lowry asked for at least one to be ejected.
“When you play an away Ryder Cup, it’s really, really challenging,” McIlroy said. “People can be their own judge of whether (fans) took it too far or not. I’m just proud of us for being able to win today with what we had to go through.”
The PGA of America said in a statement it added security and state police to McIlroy's match as well as the other afternoon sessions. It also increased the frequency of fan behavior messages on video boards.
“We will continue to closely monitor fan behavior and take appropriate action,” it said.
It was not clear how many spectators were removed for inappropriate behavior.
Cans of beer and hard seltzer lined the ropes on several holes. Fans jeered players from each team, with one asking Xander Schauffele to “wake up” and another offering to pay Jon Rahm to take a vacation if he was feeling tired.
Most of the vitriol was directed toward the visitors, who by Saturday evening sounded like the hosts with European fans partying and singing. “Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!” rang around the grounds, with a McIlroy-themed version of The Cranberries’ “Zombie” and other tunes mixed in.
Even when the cup seemed lost, fans tried to support Bradley as he walked from the 16th green to the tee at No. 17. Bradley's group must pick up 10 of the 12 points available from singles matches Sunday to erase the largest deficit since the Ryder Cup went to this format.
A big question is who will make the trek to Farmingdale to watch. Face value for tickets was $750 and surged to nearly double that on secondary markets for Friday's opening sessions. But Saturday evening, Sunday's tickets were available for less than $300 on StubHub and TickPick.
Yelling — a lot of it — at Europe's players was a theme Saturday. Fans counted down Robert MacIntyre before he attempted a shot on No. 17 in morning foursomes, and one called him “a big bag of milk.” Sepp Straka was on the receiving end of at least one septic tank joke.
McIlroy has thrived under a barrage of profanities and barbs. He took exception when the banter continued when he was over his ball.
“In between shots, say whatever you want to me," McIlroy said. "That’s totally fine. But just (give) us the respect to let us hit shots, and give us the same chance that the Americans have, I guess.”
With his team rolling along, captain Luke Donald on Friday night applauded how players were dealing with the hostile atmosphere at a place where it was so expected that Europe prepared for the noise with virtual reality headsets.
“Proud of the guys, how they handled the situation, a tough environment out there,” Donald said. “Obviously talked about that. To be prepared for an away Ryder Cup, you have to deal with that. I thought they dealt with it amazing.”
___
AP Ryder Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/ryder-cup
